The most unlikely of couples
by Clumsy.Mephisto
Summary: Sirus and Phia, though being students of the same year, practically lived in two different worlds. And when two people like that collide, quite literally, no one can predict what could happen. / REVIEWS WOULD BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!
1. Introduction

Truth to be told, Sirius Black was never one to be overly attentive of others around him unless the situation actually demanded it. These rare moments were usually reserved for his friends, mainly the infamous marauders, and only them.  
>Call him ignorant, but he didn't like to bother with the troubles of too many people. He found his own life to be troubling enough already.<br>Though he may have been quite a womanizer in his youth, none of the girls seemed to wield any power over him, like Lily did over James (not that Sirius envied James, he was rather put off by the numerous and utterly embarrassing attempts of the latter to court said redhead).  
>Sirius did not yearn to be this obsessively in love, he was content with his rather unattached relationships. He also didn't believe any girl possessed enough beauty, charm and wit to attract him this much.<br>All in all, he was a hopeless case of a guy with a happy-go-lucky attitude.

Phia was the exact opposite of what the majority expected from a girl. She wasn't exactly feminine nor did she like socializing; she hated to flirt, she was clumsy, put no effort into dressing up and didn't bother too much with makeup unless she had to cover up her dark circles from reading all the way through the night. She rarely spoke, and the few times she did, it was either completely incomprehensible for her fellow classmates or sarcastic (which fewest understood, as well). She had hence almost completely rejoiced into reading her books and conversing with the few individuals that actually possessed the talent to keep up with her track of thoughts. Phia didn't regret not making more friends at Hogwarts, her family came before all kinds of acquaintances anyways. On top of that she was mostly regarded as a weirdo, since her lack of social skills had resulted in her being a bit detached when put into a large crowd of people.  
>It wasn't like she couldn't be kind or sweet, as a matter of fact, if given the chance she could be as sweet as a cupcake. But her reputation as a misfit and weirdo allowed no opportunities to show this side of her.<br>That being said one should find it likely that Phia also wasn't the kind of person who would pay a lot of attention to her fellow classmates or her surroundings in general. It wasn't out of the usual for her to bump into someone or something, simply because she was too busy reading or day-dreaming…


	2. Chapter 1

It was just a normal day in the life of a sixth year at Hogwarts – thundering teachers, crowded halls and way too much homework to do, especially if you were one of the few with a flourishing social life.  
>Sirius Black was one of those students with too many things to handle to even think about bothering with due papers for Transfiguration or, even worse, Potions. His best friend James had just received another rejection from the object of his desire for the past six years, the ever so charming Lily Evans, and wasn't exactly taking it well. Thus his best friends tried the best they could to console him as they strode through the long corridors, pulling pranks on anyone they deemed to be deserving of it, namely all Slytherins crossing their ways.<br>However, none of their grand ideas would cast a smile on James' face and Sirius was growing tired of his best friends' behavior.

'Seriously, mate, snap out of! The girl isn't worth half of the attention you're giving her. It's not like she ever showed any signs of liking you in the first place. I say you should just move on already. ', he complained.  
>'You don't know what you're saying, Padfoot! She is worth every second of it. She just doesn't know her feelings for me, yet… ', James replied in an unusually quiet voice.<br>'As much as I hate to admit it, but I think Padfoot's right, Prongs. Lily is a nice girl and all, but I don't think you're even her type. Let's face it, she's been going for the dandies ever since she started dating and, well, you're the farthest from being dandy I know. On top of that she thinks you're an insufferable pain in the neck. ', Remus intervened in an apologetic voice, not exactly enjoying the message he had to pass to James. He was the closest to Lily out of the four of them and whenever he met her in the library, Remus was in for another gush of insults the redhead hurled towards his friend. Peter, as always, remained quite throughout the conversation, he felt like he had nothing to add and rarely dared to speak his mind on these matters, anyways.

'See, even Moony's with me on this one! You have got to see this, Prongs, she is absolutely unattainable! The girl's been a pompous know-it-all since the very beginning. She probably considers it below her standard to meddle with the likes of u-'

Sirius' sermon was forcefully interrupted by him running into something, or rather, someone. Though he wasn't knocked over, and neither was the person that bumped into him, he was thrown off guard, and took a step back to gather his breath.  
>'What the – watch where you're going shrimp!', he cussed in a hostile manner, angered by the incident.<br>'Watch it yourself, pighead!', an unexpectedly high and pleasant voice replied in an equally angered tone.  
>Taken aback, Sirius inspected the person in front of him for the first time. She was indeed tiny compared to him, only about 5'5, and had short tousled hair in a dark chestnut color. Her skin was frighteningly pale, as though she hadn't seen the sun in years, and contrasted with her brown eyes.<br>Upon noticing his lingering glance she frowned and went on: 'Quit the oogling, Black. Besides, I'm not the one striding around as if I own the place. If you don't want anybody to run into you, you might want to use that inflated head of yours and pay attention to your surroundings.'

'You weren't paying attention, either! Who are you, anyways?', Sirius returned in an increasingly loud voice, his patience growing thinner and thinner.  
>Behind him, Peter shrunk away, hiding behind James, who was a little puzzled by his friends' aggressive behavior, but didn't want to interfere. Remus, however, let out a soundly sigh and informed his friend:<p>

'She's in our year, Padfoot. She's that Ravenclaw genius everybody's always rambling about.'  
>'Most Ravenclaws are geniuses, Moony. Doesn't exactly say anything about who she is.', Sirius growled.<br>'Leave it, Remus, he's a hopeless nutcase anyways. He doesn't notice any girl unless she's a brainless Barbie that practically throws herself at his neck.', the girl stated, rolling her eyes. Then she put her book away in her bag, which by the way seemed to be ripping at the seams due to all the heavy books thrown inside, and with a simple 'See you in Ancient Runes' to Remus she took off, leaving the boys puzzled.

Sirius looked after her until she was lost in the crowd of people and then turned to his friends, seething inside.  
>'Who is this little pipsqueak?', he inquired furiously.<br>'Her name is Phia, but I think that's just her nickname. Her last name is pronounced 'peach' or something, nobody can write it though, it's foreign. She has Transfiguration and Defense against the Dark Arts with us, sits next to another Ravenclaw girl. She's this prodigy kid that already performed wandless magic in our third year, the teacher's were raving about it for two years, at least. Rumor has it she already got offered to train as an Auror after Hogwarts.', Peter finally spoke up, glad he had something to contribute after all.  
>James gaped a little at Peter's words, and Remus nodded in agreement, adding: 'She a complete loner, though. This is seriously the longest I've heard her talk outside class. She usually buries herself inside a book, she reads loads of fictional stories, mainly those from Muggle authors. She doesn't even bother to socialize with her fellow Ravenclaws, let alone people from the other houses.'<p>

Sirius snorted. 'Great, so she's like another Lily Evans, just worse. Self-important little cow! Reading a book while walking, but telling me to watch out.'  
>'People usually avoid running into her, Pads. They're used to her attitude, nobody dares to go near her. As you just saw, she can be a bit … bad-tempered when somebody interrupts her.', Remus mentioned, feeling a little uneasy when thinking about her little outbursts. Sirius frowned a little, but decided to shrug it off.<br>'Did she really get offers from the Ministry, Wormtail? They usually don't hire people themselves unless they are of extraordinary scale.', James asked, still baffled by the girl.  
>'It's a rumor, I don't really know. Somebody kept raving about it in Herbology last week, something about a letter that Flitwick delivered personally.', Peter shrugged.<p>

'Come on, guys, let's go to dinner. I'm starving.', Remus interjected, feeling extremely tired. The full moon was just a couple of days away. Sirius huffed, but agreed and made a mental note to watch out for this so-called prodigy in the future, not really able to get her out of his mind all the way to the Great Hall and throughout dinner.


	3. Chapter 2

The following weeks were blissfully uneventful; that is, if you excluded events such as Lily's regular rejections and a few minor pranks on Slytherins (Severus looked absolutely charming with pink curly hair) and other students that the Marauders considered to be standing in their way.

Sirius had become increasingly on edge, always being watchful whether a certain Ravenclaw girl was wandering around nearby. His friends, despite being aware of his weird behavior, kept their comments to themselves, knowing that a confrontation would only result in a huge outburst.  
>Phia, however, remained completely unaware of his scrutinizing glances and undivided attention, always lost in a book, or her thoughts, depending on the time of the day.<br>He even went as far as to observe her during the few classes they shared and now began to wonder how he could not have noticed her before. Her diligence throughout lessons matched Lily's, but she had nothing of Lily's frantic ambition, her demeanor was calm and neutral to her surroundings and her voice matched the knowledgeable tone of a teacher. Her personality as a student seemed to differ vastly from the image he had drawn of her with their first encounter.

The girl was becoming a riddle and Sirius was all too eager to solve it. Yet, he held reservations when it came to approaching her. There was no telling how she would react and her cocky remark about his antics around girls had stung his pride (he would never admit this openly – what an insult it would be to give in to a stubborn little witch like her!).  
>The evening after their first encounter Phia's comment had been discussed among the Gryffindors briefly, mainly due to Peter asking what a 'Barbie' is. His question drew resounding laughter from the Muggle-born girls, and some boys, at the Gryffindor table and Lily, whipping away some tears from laughing, answered: 'Barbies are dolls, Pete, and most Muggle girls have them. They usually look like adult women and have long blonde hair.'<br>'And what does it mean if you call a girl a Barbie?', Peter inquired curiously.  
>'It's an insult, really. It basically means she's fake and has no brains.', Lily giggled and shook her head. Sirius' grip on the cutlery tightened slightely.<br>'Why are you asking this, Peter?'  
>'Oh, I-I –'<br>'Sirius ran into Phia on our way to the Great Hall.', Remus simply replied. James shifted uncomfortably in his seat, feeling a little jealous that his best friend could talk to his Lily in such a casual manner, while he was merely regarded with scornful words.  
>Lily laughed, yet again. 'Well, <em>that <em>explains everything.'  
>'<em>She<em> ran into _me_, Remus!', Sirius grunted, still furious at 'the shrimp', as he had taken on to calling her in front of the Marauders.  
>Nobody commented on him and there was no need to do so, he was boiling already as it was.<p>

However, as the weeks went by and his furiousness had subsided, his curiousness took on seemingly immeasurable dimensions.  
>And when the first Hogsmeade trip in the new term approached (it was March), Sirius had made up his mind: he was going to follow Phia wherever she went. He would figure out what she was all about, come what may.<p>

On said day, Sirius got up first in the morning, eager to be prepared to the max for his quest. He showered and put on his most inconspicuous clothes, hoping he wouldn't stand out too much – not that he ever actually tried to stand out. He just naturally attracted a lot of people with his looks and charisma.  
>He had additionally borrowed James' invisibility cloak and, mind you, it had been quite a deed to get his best friend to give out his most priced treasure. But Sirius being, well, Sirius managed to persuade the younger boy. James was going to spend the time in Hogsmeade with the two remaining Marauders all while providing Sirius the cover he needed: if people were going to ask for the reasons for the handsome Blacks' absence, they would just tell them he had snuck off with some blonde Hufflepuff girl they had never seen before. The plot was fairly simple, but credible enough, seeing that he was notorious for being a ladykiller.<p>

The Marauders went to the Great Hall for breakfast in their usual formation, but the second they entered the hall he started looking around for a certain Ravenclaw, and to his relief, she sat in her seat, as always, not minding anybody but her own business.  
>While eating, doubts suddenly began to spring forth inside Sirius: was she even the type to visit Hogsmeade? With her antisocial behavior she probably had no one to accompany her.<br>Fortunately for him, she followed a small group of Ravenclaws a year below her, occasionally engaging small talk with them, but it seemed only in order to uphold a polite appearance.  
>Sirius slipped out of the hall shortly after and, making sure nobody was around, he put on the invisibility cloak he had hidden underneath his shirt. He ran into the Entrance Hall and slipped out of the portal. He could see Phia in the distance, still walking with the other Ravenclaws, but he made sure to keep a safe distance while he followed in the throng of students to the village.<p>

To his disappointment, he didn't get to observe her questionable social skills any further, because, as soon as they reached Hogsmeade, Phia separated from her party, heading for the '_Tomes and Scolls'_, the local bookstore.  
>Sirius stifled a snort – how absolutely typical for a student like her to go there - but went after her anyways. He slipped in with a group of customers and quickly hid in the corners. He had never been inside this particular store, he generally limited himself to <em>Honeydukes<em>, _Zonko's_ and the _Three Broomsticks_ respectively, and of course, the Shrieking Shack.

_Tomes and Scrolls_ was smaller than _Flourish and Blotts, _the only other book store Sirius had ever visited, significantly darker and full of nooks and crannies. It took him a good couple of minutes to find the small Ravenclaw hidden between the laden shelves. Sirius had to stifle yet another snort – Phia already had her nose buried inside a book, blissfully unaware of any other customers. He slowly approached her, curious about the title. It was a book on advanced Potion brewing. He scrunched his nose – how could anybody voluntarily read something like that?  
>But then he remembered Peter's words – that she was a candidate for the Aurors, and assumed that it was only comprehensible for her to be diving into advanced magic in her position.<br>Suddenly Phia snapped the book shut and Sirius gasped slightly, startled. She thankfully missed the sound and shot past him, the book tugged underneath her arm. He regained his composure as fast as he could and resumed to following her. Again, it took a while to find her, especially now that the customers, adults and students alike, were streaming inside the store in large numbers. He discovered a small set of stairs that lead to the upper story, and, looking around carefully, he went upstairs.  
>Sirius inwardly congratulated himself for this idea, because there she was, sitting cross-legged on the floor, half a dozen of books scattered around her. Taking in the interior, he noted how much comfortable and private this section seemed. Only two other customers were upstairs, and both sat in the arm chairs at the other end of the room. It wasn't as organized as downstairs, but a lot more homely. He found himself a corner opposite of Phia and decided to study her for a bit.<p>

She was wearing an oversized sweater, presumably a males, that looked it was completely worn out, the grey color fading. On the bottom she was clad in a pair of navy leggings and lace-up combat boots. Her cloak was cast aside in a careless manner, piled on the floor next to her. Her messy hair stuck out in all directions and hid most of her pale face.

Sirius noticed the dark circles underneath her eyes and frowned a little. Did she really spent her nights studying like people said? With her being regarded as one of the most brilliant minds she shouldn't be in need of additional revising of subject matter. He read the book titles he could make out from his position and became absolutely certain that the things _she _studied were definitely not suitable for the ordinary student – all of the books were on advanced and ancient magic, he even spotted some written exclusively in runes.  
>Sirius sighed inwardly. What was he even thinking, spying on the likes of Phia?<br>She belonged to the students he gladly distanced himself from, the swots and geeks, the ones without friends, living for nothing but academic ambitions.  
>A soft sigh escaping her lips interrupted his thoughts. There she sat, slouched forward, head buried in her hands, her fingers massaging her scalp. She muttered something, but he didn't understand a word. For a second he wasn't even sure whether she was speaking English at all, but brushed it aside. He probably just couldn't hear her muffled voice clearly, that was all.<br>After a minute or so she went back to reading and Sirius let his thoughts continue to revolve around her, trying to fit the few things he knew about her together.  
>The person he had observed in the past weeks was so quintessentially different from the girl he had assumed she was. He had expected her to be as insufferable as Lily Evans, always holding her head high above others. (That was his view on Lily Evans, at least. Most would disagree with him, for in fact she was a sweet girl, always willing to help others.)<p>

In Sirius' head he had already created himself a set image of Phia and now he found himself wondering if maybe he had, quite frankly, put her into the wrong category. She was nowhere near as pompous as he had made her out to be during their first encounter. She always carried an air of utter neutrality and indifference around her. The outburst directed towards him apparently had been something out of the ordinary, despite the fact that Remus and Lily, being the Gryffindors that frequently inhabited the library, knew about her mood swings.  
>The student body regarded the Ravenclaw solely as an isolated genius. The only thing known were her results in class, which were obviously beyond outstanding. Sirius had discovered that Phia had previously skipped the second year at Hogwarts and originally belonged to the students of his younger brothers' classes. He was a little befuddled by his own ignorance.<p>

He snapped out of his thoughts when Phia suddenly rose to her feet, some of the books returning to the shelves by magic, others piling up in her arms. In a hurry, she descended down the stairs, her cloak draped over her left arms, and hastily bid the other wizards (whom Sirius had long forgotten) good-bye. Sirius scrambled to his feet and followed as silently as he could. He assumed it already was past noon and his stomach made objections that a meal was in order. He found her at the at the cash register, paying for one, two, three, four, _five_ books, before she swiftly left _Tomes and Scrolls_.  
>He slipped out of the door before it could close and, to his relief, saw her walking towards <em>Honeydukes<em>.  
>'At least there's something normal about her.', he muttered under his breath.<p> 


	4. Chapter 3

Sirius immediately felt at ease the second he entered Honeydukes, breathing in the familiar sticky sweet air. The shop was packed with students, as always. After a couple of minutes of wandering around the shelves he remembered why he had come to Hogsmeade in the first place and panicked slightly. Why in Merlin's name did this girl have to be this tiny and unrecognizable? She was the size of a fourth year, he hardly could see her in the crowd. With him being a generous 6'1 tall, he towered over majority of the students, with the exceptions of some seventh years and his best friend James.  
>Finally he spotted her tousled short mane in the crowd and squeezed through the customers, not caring whether he was brushing past them, since nobody could avoid body contact when going into Honeydukes anyways.<p>

Phia stood in front of the chocolates, the books wrapped in brown paper piled on the ground, trying to reach for the Chocoballs in the very top layer of the shelf. He almost wanted to laugh out loud, but it came out as a silent cackle, startling a first year next to him.  
>'<em>Little shrimp can't get her chocolates, huh<em>?', he thought, watching her with amusement.  
>She puffed her cheeks in the most adorable manner and Sirius itched to reach for his wand to conjure the jar of chocolates down for her, but to his amazement the jar was already moving. She hadn't twitched a finger and held no wand in her hand. She took the jar when it was in front of her chest, and filled a huge amount the candy in one of the pink paper bags. Then she sent it back upwards, still not using a wand or incarnation whatsoever. Sirius jaw literally almost hit the floor. <em>Wandless magic. Without incarnations.<em> And she did it as though it was the most natural thing in the world. He shook his head slightly. This should be no news for him. It fit exactly into the description Peter and Remus had given him. Why did this take him off guard?

She took out a simple bag made of mint colored cloth from her cloak, _and suddenly her books shot upwards, one after another and disappeared inside the bag.  
><em>Sirius' eyes started bulging out of the sockets.  
><em>'Moving items <em>_**and **__an undetectable extension charm?'  
><em>She really was something. She slung her bag over her right arm and went to the next shelves, repeating the same procedure as with the Chocoballs with various toffees and bonbons and Chocolate Skeletons. At last she got herself a good couple of packages of Fizzing Whizzbees. Sirius kept wandering behind her, sneaking himself his own sweets here and there, reminding himself to leave the money behind the counter. He was no thief, after all.

Phia paid and then stored the sweets inside her bag.  
><em>'For a girl she seems to stomach quite a lot of food.<em>', Sirius thought to himself, remembering how most girls would skip desserts and only buy diet candy in _Honeydukes_.  
>On closer observation he noticed that her figure was nowhere near as scrawny as he had made her out to be. She had a good amount of package in the right places, but hid it quite effectively under her sloppy clothing.<br>_'She must've inherited these clothes from a male relative of some sort. No girl voluntarily dresses in boy's sweaters and jerseys unless she has no other options.'_, he ranted on in his mind, certain of his infallible knowledge of the female mind.  
>Sirius sneaked behind the counter and dropped a handful of coins where only the shop owners could see it. He then followed his quest of the day outside, stuffing himself with the goodies he had just obtained. He found her in the middle of the market place, which bustled with busy people, looking around with a thoughtful expression, scratching her hair in the process. Just now he noticed how much younger and cute she actually looked. Her cheeks no longer looked dull, but pleasantly pink from the cool spring air and her overall complexion seemed clearer and fresher. Contemplating, he had to admit that though she didn't fit the general definition of beauty, she actually was quite a looker, but in a weird way. She had an androgynous touch, due to the short hair and boyish choice of wardrobe, yet, when he thought about it, her voice had a pleasant feminine ring to it.<p>

Sirius shook his head underneath the invisibility cloak. What was he even thinking?  
>Phia was the most incurable geek of the school. Unless she was reading or concentrating on class she bore holes into the walls with her exorbitant staring and day-dreaming.<br>Why was he following her around, trying to figure out her personality? He should be with his best friends, playing pranks on his fellow students, emptying the shelves of Zonko's and wolf-whistling whenever a girl with long hair and a pretty face passed.  
>He couldn't find the answer, because out of a sudden, the very person around whom his thoughts had been revolving had disappeared into thin air and he couldn't spot her anywhere.<br>He took a turn around the village, hoping to spot her somewhere admidst the students, but couldn't find her. Dejected, he returned to the castle, frustrated with his own stupidity for losing her and yet he couldn't process why he even felt this aggravated. She was just another girl among many. She had never taken notice of him until she had bumped into him and made a bitchy statement about his dating policy. It was none of her business and it shouldn't be bugging him, after all this wasn't the first time he had people calling him out for his actions.

He shuffled his feet when he returned to the Common Room, taking off the invisibility cloak and when his friends welcomed him, Sirius lost no word about the things he had done or seen throughout the day and forced himself to act as though nothing out of the usual had happened.  
>As a matter of fact, it had been an ordinary visit to Hogsmeade for all the students, with no fights and no drama. But it hadn't been so for a certain Black, who had let his curiousness get the best of him and had tried to sneak into someone's life without their permission and without them even knowing. He felt a little guilty and made a promise with himself to never pry into someone else's privacy again, no matter how tempting it may appear at first.<p> 


	5. Chapter 4

Sirius kept his promise all the way until the end of the term. He couldn't keep himself from glancing at Phia now and then, during classes or in the corridors, sometimes a little too long for his own liking. But he never followed her anywhere, nor did he try to force people into telling him about her.  
>He kept himself busy with various girls, never staying with any of them longer than a couple of weeks, since they merely served to provide him some distraction.<p>

However, on the day of their departure from Hogwarts, Remus had the nerve to confront him about the matter once they were seated in their compartment.  
>'You never told us what your short-lived fascination with Phia was all about, Padfoot. What did you see her doing in Hogsmeade that you never brought up the topic again? Did she take too long in <em>Tomes and Scrolls<em> and you simply got bored?', the brown-haired boy teased.  
>Sirius scoffed, but put on an indifferent face. 'I was just curious. But it seems like she's just like all the other swots out there. Nothing but books on her mind.'<p>

Remus snorted slightly, but brushed his friend's behavior off. James, on the other hand, decided to take the topic further.  
>'I asked my parents about her, by the way. 'Bout the Auror thing. Seems like it's true what those Ravenclaws were saying. She was admitted into the list of Auror trainees after the O.W.L.'s. Dad told me Alastor Moody kept ranting about her.'<br>Sirius raised his brows.  
>'Well, I did see her levitating objects without a wand or incarnations in Hogsmeade, so I guess it's understandable they want her. Never saw anything like that before.', he added in a pointedly nonchalant voice.<br>'She d-did what?', Peter blurted out, eyes bulging.  
>Even Remus looked puzzled. 'No incarnations? Seems like she improved since Christmas. Back then she still used the formulas and everything.'<br>Sirius just shrugged.  
>'Man, I wonder if she can cast Patronuses! Maybe she's even an Animagus, like us? With her potential, anything is possible.', James said, excited at the prospect of knowing somebody of such extraordinary skills.<br>'How about you just ask her, Prongs?', Sirius suggested.  
>James immediately snapped out of his excitement.<br>'I don't even know her, Pads!'  
>'Nobody does.'<br>'But I'd really like to know where she got those skills from!.', James persisted.  
>'Prongs, leave it. Anyways, did Hestia invite you to Marlene's place? I heard she invited your dearest Lily.', Sirius tried to change the topic.<br>'Yes, she did ask me. And yes, apparently Lily is also going to stay at Marlene's. She basically invited the whole year. Even a certain 'shrimp', as it seems.', James shot back.  
>'No way – she invited the geek?', Peter threw in, busying himself with the sweets he bought from the trolley.<p>

Remus sighed. 'It's not like Phia would ever attend anyways. Marlene and Hestia probably just asked her to be nice. They even asked some of the snakes, after all.'  
>'Snakes? Well, that sounds like it's gonna be a blast.', Sirius smirked.<br>Remus couldn't suppress as grin – the idea of taunting Slytherins was never out of place.  
>'Anyways, I think we should all grace dear Marlene with our presence at her home party.', James suggested, a smirk plastered on his face.<br>'Sounds, like a brilliant idea, Prongs.', Sirius grinned lazily. Peter and Remus just nodded in agreement not in the mood for their cocky blabbering.

When the Hogwarts Express finally pulled in at platform 9 ³/4, Sirius' mind circulated nowhere near the Ravenclaw girl that had kept his thoughts busy these past months. Rather, he was thinking about his summer at the Potter's and the upcoming party, knowing this was the last time he could ever enjoy these things before he would be thrown out forever into the harsh reality outside school.  
>The Potter's were already expecting him and James at the Platform, warm smiles brightening their faces. Sirius couldn't help but smile back. There were no words to describe the gratefulness he felt towards the elderly couple. Mrs. Potter embraced the two boys, crying a little.<br>'Welcome home.'  
>Sirius felt a warmth surge through him, he was almost a little embarrassed. He rarely ever received such genuine gestures from anyone and sometimes they still felt foreign to him.<br>James had already freed himself from his mother's clasp, approaching his father, while Sirius remained. Mrs. Potter looked up at him and gently caressed through his hair.  
>'Look at yourself, my boy. You're growing more handsome with each day. It almost makes me wish I was a little younger.', she joked with a playful smile.<br>'Mom!', James chided in, aghast.  
>'I'm just kidding, Jamie.', she laughed.<br>'Sirius.', a deep voice broke through the laughter.  
>'Mr. Potter.', Sirius straightened himself and directly looked into Mr. Potter's eyes while shaking his hand, eyes which were of the same color as James's.<br>'I see you're laying claim on my wife?', the adult joked, with a playful seriousness.  
>'I dare say so, Mr. Potter. I'm sorry you have to learn it this way, Sir.'<br>Mrs. Potter rolled her eyes and James looked faked a sour look.  
>'Pads, don't you even dare think about becoming my stepfather.'<br>'Don't worry, I've already planned to put you up for adoption, Prongsie.', the older boy laughed while James put a panicked look on his face.

On the other side of the platform, Phia struggled with her overly heavy suitcase, mentally cursing herself for forgetting to put a charm on it to make it lighter. People kept giving her weird glances – it's not that hadn't gotten used to that. She just resented the fact that even among Muggles she stood out like a sore thumb.  
>'Do you want me to help you, cupcake, or are you going to drag this suitcase all the way to the exit?'<br>She looked up and surprise and a smile split across her face.  
>'Jazz!', she yelled happily, dropping the suitcase with a heavy thud and launching herself at the man's neck.<br>'Steady there, little one.', the older man laughed, gently ruffling her hair.  
>'Where's Barbie?', she asked as she released him.<br>'The name's Shelly, cupcake. And she's home with Mum and Dad, helping them to prepare your coming home feast.', 'Jazz' rolled his eyes.  
>'Jasper, are really taking away the chance from me to tease that lovely girlfriend of yours first things upon my return?', she exclaimed, overly exasperated.<br>'Yes, because it would be too harsh on her poor nerves. You're quite a handful for a little sister, you know.', he replied, pretending to scold her.  
>'That's not true.', Phia pouted, putting on a puppy face.<br>'Those eyes won't work on me, cupcake. They only do on Dad.'  
>'Fine.', she moaned and reached out for her suitcase, but Jasper was faster.<br>'I'm taking that.'

'Phia?', a female voice asked from behind.  
>The girl spun around and stood face to face with Marlene McKinnon and Hestia Jones from her year.<br>'Um, hey there, you guys.', she responded, feeling a little uncomfortable. They kept eyeing her brother, eating him up with her glances.  
>'You never told us whether you'd accept the invitation to our party. We'd be really glad to have you there. Most people from our year are coming! Xeno also said he would attend and seeing that the two of you get along quite well-'<br>'I'll owl you once I decide, okay?', Phia jumped in, feeling a little burdened.  
>'Oh come on, cupcake, don't be such a party pooper. I'll make sure that she'll be there, ladies.', Jasper cut in, putting an arm around his sister and flashing them one of his most dashing smiles.<br>Phia inwardly cursed the heavens for giving her such a handsome brother; no girl could ever resist those deep blue eyes and blonde curls. He was the exact opposite of her.  
>'Thank you very much-'<br>'Jasper. Jasper Pietzsch. Nice to meet you.', he held out his hand. Both, Hestia and Marlene, took and gladly and then hastily bid good-bye, giggling all the way back to their throng.  
>'You're one asshole of a brother.', Phia muttered.<br>'Love you, too, cupcake.', he replied nonchalantly, not releasing her from his grasp all the way to the car.


	6. Chapter 5

It was a mess, but to Sirius it was a beautiful one. Somehow Marlene had managed to have music blasting throughout the whole mansion. The lively Rock'n'Roll tunes had the people dancing in the living room and hall and on top of that most of them were drunk or at least tipsy. Needless to say, Sirius was by no means lonely, because there were always a good number of girls that would gladly keep him company.  
>Peter had ran off somewhere, possibly finally getting lucky with some lady, James was chasing after his favorite flower, whereas Remus kept himself busy giving out the Firewhiskey to the guests.<br>Marlene and Hestia, the masterminds behind the event, had forgotten long ago to keep an eye on their classmates, way too much into the dancing and the guys.

Longing for a bit of air, Sirius stumbled outside into the spacious garden of the McKinnons. He was wandering around aimlessly, greeting some of the couples occasionally, when he ran into the one person he had never expected to see at this place.  
>Though Hestia and Marlene had assured them at the platform that Phia was going to be at the party, none of them had actually believed it, especially since the two girls had busied themselves with discussing about the mystery guy that had picked up the inconspicuous Ravenclaw.<br>Yet, there she was, sitting on a bench, cross-legged, a glass filled with Firewhiskey in her hands, giving off the impression that she was waiting for someone.  
>Now Sirius, severely lacking self-control due to the amount of alcohol he had been drinking the last couple of hours, couldn't let the chance to engage the girl in a conversation pass him by like this and thus he approached her, hands in his pockets, putting on his trademark lopsided grin.<p>

'Well, look who's here? What brings an innocent little bookworm like you to such an event?', he purred, startling her.  
>She sat up with a start, and upon seeing him, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.<br>'What's it to you, Black?', her voice came out unexpectedly cold.  
>He took his sweet time checking her out. Unlike the other girls, she hadn't put any effort into her outfit at all, she was wearing a simple grey tank top, a checkered flannel shirt on top and ripped jeans shorts paired with red dirty sneakers he recognized as Converse, he'd seen them in one of the Muggle sports magazines he read in Muggle Studies.<br>'Oh, I'm just curious, really. I didn't think you'd show up.' He was speaking the truth; he _was_ curious, very curious, indeed.  
>She raised her eyebrows. 'Apparently, nobody did. And I didn't plan on it, either. Curse that mutt of a brother, promising those girls I'd come.'<br>'So the mystery guy at the station was your brother?', Sirius inquired, feeling relieved for some reason unknown to him.  
>'Is that what they labeled him? He will love to hear this. His girlfriend not so much, though.', she downed most of her drink in one gulp.<br>'Slow down, shrimp. Are you sure you can handle this much?', he stepped forward a little, for the most part craving to see her from close up.  
>'Sirius, do you think I live under a rock? I do know how to handle liquor. Unlike those kids . ', she rolled her eyes while nodding in the direction of the manor.<br>'You shouldn't call them kids, all of us are older than you.', he replied, sitting down next to her on the bench, making her scoot over slightly.

Sirius laughed, more like barked. 'I don't bite, you know.'  
>'I wouldn't be so sure about that. You do know that your reputation as among the worst in the school.', she eyed him warily.<br>'Yours is no better. The lonesome geek – isn't that what they call you?'  
>'I'd rather be a geek than a whore.', she chided.<p>

He let out a whistle. 'Feisty one, aren't you? Is that how you see most of us? As lowlifes and whores, people with no sense or dignity?'  
>Sirius knew he was provoking her at some point, but he couldn't help himself. There was too much frustration built up inside him, all because of her distant and neutral behavior and that one snide remark so many months ago.<br>'I wouldn't necessarily say that. There are some among the students that are agreeable. But most care more about their hormones than the things that happen outside the school, and that's what bugs me for the most part. You haven't seen what they're like in our Common Room. All over each other, as though they didn't know where else to with their energy', she stated.  
>'So you think burying your face in the pages of your books is any better?'<br>She looked at him with blatant distaste. 'You know, for someone who didn't know who I was not too long ago you know an awful lot about me.'  
>He gulped down his embarrassment.<br>'You called me a womanizer!'  
>'You <em>are<em> a womanizer. It's not like you keep it a secret, anyways. Snogging those poor lifeless souls in the corridors and then boast everywhere how you shagged them in a broom closet.'  
>After a short silence, Sirius chimed in. 'You really don't have a civil world to say for me, do you?'<br>Phia sighed.  
>'Why is it so freaking important to you? You should care less about everything I do, even if I danced naked on the teacher's table.'<br>He snorted. 'Well, that's something I'd like to see – OUCH!'  
>Phia had slapped him right over the head. Hard.<br>He looked at her through squeezed eyes, rubbing the back of his throbbing head.  
>'Merlin's pants, what kind of woman are you?', he groaned. The alcohol was starting to wear off and he didn't like the feeling that was slowly creeping into his chest.<br>'I think you already know that I'm the farthest from your ideal type there is. So why the complaints?'  
>'I-'<p>

They were interrupted by a set of screeches for Sirius' presence. Hestia and her friend Mary MacDonald came stumbling over, their mini dresses looking dangerously loose on their drunken forms.  
>'Sirius, there you are! We've been looking for you everywhere!', Mary slurred, her eyes blurry from all the alcohol.<br>'James's in trouble, Sirius! He got in a fight with Amos Diggory – because of Lily!', Hestia hastily added, holding Mary upright.  
>Sirius immediately shot up, eyes furious. 'Where are they?'<br>'The living room!', Hestia replied.  
>He bolted past them, and Mary finally collapsed, no longer capable of standing.<br>'Merlin, Mary! Shit-'  
>Phia stood up and caught Mary before she ultimately hit the ground. Carefully, she turned the girl over on her back.<br>'Seriously, what did you give to her, she's completely out of it.', the younger and smaller girl muttered.  
>'She wanted to impress a certain Black, but it seems like that turned out to be quite a failure.', Hestia replied, rolling her eyes while gently playing with Mary's long blonde hair, steadying the head of the girl on her lap.<p>

Phia's eyes darted between Hestia and the now unconscious Mary.  
>'Why are all most girls so hung up over Sirius Black?', she finally asked.<br>Hestia glanced at her, surprised that the young Ravenclaw actually tried to make a conversation. After a moment of hesitation, she answered.  
>'Let's just say Sirius has that special something, if you know what I mean. He's not only handsome and smart and has a great sense of humor – he has charisma. And he's one heck of a good kisser!'<br>She chuckled at her last statement, causing Phia to roll her eyes. She had already heard plenty of stories about his 'skills'.  
>'But isn't he supposed to be a cheating and lying bastard when it comes to girls?', she inquired.<br>Hestia laughed out loud.  
>'So these rumors around school actually do reach your ears?'<br>Phia gave her a look.  
>'Just kidding, just kidding! Merlin, where's your sense of humor? Anyways,', Hestia went on when she saw that the expression of the Ravenclaw considerably began to darken, ' yes, Sirius can be a bloody asshole. Dating him can be both heaven and hell at the same time. But it gives girls hopes, you know. That they can be the ones to change him.'<br>Phia just shook her head at the explanation.  
>'That sounds like they are blatantly naïve.', she stated.<br>'They probably are. That's just the effect Sirius Black has on us girls. Well, with the exception of you and Lily Evans, maybe.'  
>There was a moment of silence. The two girls, despite their factual differences, felt incredibly comfortable around one another.<p>

'The manor has quieted down.', the Ravenclaw stated out a sudden.  
>'Hm?'<br>Hestia looked around, and in fact, the music had been turned down and barely any voices could be heard.  
>'Guess the party is over, huh?', Hestia said, disappointment apparent in her voice.<br>Phia just shrugged, in a way glad that the tumult had died down, on the other hand she had come to enjoy the conversation with Hestia. Both Hestia and Sirius, two people whom she had considered to be living in a wholly different world than hers, had more or less voluntarily put up with her this evening. Maybe, she thought, those Gryffindors weren't all that bad. She had developed a dislike for the people of her own house over the years, which probably was partially her own fault as well, but yet she couldn't get over the underlying hostility she had received from her fellow Ravenclaws ever since she had become the apple of every teacher's eyes.

'We better get Mary inside.', Hestia suggested in a low tone.  
>Phia nodded, and together they pulled up the wasted blonde and carried her to the mansion.<br>Inside people had huddled together in their usual groups, talking to each other in a hushed tone. They spotted Marlene talking to the Marauders, her expression stern.  
>Hestia called her name and the host turned around to them, her eyes widening at the sight of the three girls approaching. The Marauders also wore expressions of surprise, only Sirius looked somewhat collected, being the only one among them who knew of her attendance.<p>

'We're going to put her in bed now, Marlene. Is everything alright in here?', Hestia asked, looking pointedly at James and Sirius.  
>'Yes, we've got the situation under control for now. Be careful on the stairs, I'm sure there might be some broken glass.', Marlene replied.<p>

Phia looked up and narrowed her eyes. There were, indeed, multiple shards of glass spread all over the floor.  
>Suddenly, with a slight 'plop' they were all gone.<br>'How did you do that?', Hestia, the only one who saw it, hissed. 'We're not allowed to do magic outside school!'  
>'I've got some tricks up my sleeves when it comes to avoiding the Ministry, Hestia. Trust me on this one.', the shorter girl simply said with a meaningful glance that send Hestia shivers down her spine. Regardless she went on, both girls struggling to hoist the drunk unconscious blonde upstairs. After a couple of minutes they reached the top of the staircase, both panting.<br>'Couldn't you have made her lighter or something? If you are able to perform magic outside of school?', Hestia complained between her ragged breaths.  
>'I need to use my magic sparingly. I can only get away with this much. ', Phia answered, unsure where to go, since she was unfamiliar with the house.<br>Hestia lead her through the halls, her curiosity getting the best of her.  
>'Where did you learn all of this? The magic you do – it's beyond everything they teach us in Hogwarts.'<br>Phia tensed up a bit, giving a curt answer. 'Self-study. I have access to certain books that touch the subjects of ancient witchcraft and potion-making.'  
>'But how?', Hestia inquired. They had reached a door at the right end of the hall. She turned the knob and the two went inside, Mary clamped between their grips.<br>'The teachers have agreed to let me read through all sections of the library without exception. On top of that, I am on personal terms with the owners of _Flourish and Blotts_ and _Tomes and Scrolls_.'  
>Phia didn't know why she told all this to the Gryffindor. She barely knew the girl. But she wanted to trust Hestia she needed somebody to talk about these things, somebody that did not look at her with disgust and jealousy whenever the privileges she enjoyed were mentioned.<br>'You really are something. Why haven't you graduated, yet? I'm sure you could've, if you had wanted to.'  
>'The Ministry is not in favor of underage witches and wizards outside of Hogwarts, especially if they possess any potential that is of usage for them. They like to keep a tight rein on the likes of me.', Phia said matter-of-factly, as if it was the most obvious thing ever.<br>They put Mary on a bed in a far off corner, carefully tugging the blanket over her.  
>'Don't you feel caged sometimes?', Hestia whispered.<br>Phia looked at her wide-eyed, clearly taken aback by the question.  
>Hestia shifted nervously, tugging a strand of her black hair behind her ear.<br>'It's just that you're always alone. You seem detached from everybody around you. You may be a diamond in the eyes of the teachers, but from what you're saying it seems like the Ministry has got an eye on you. They say you're already preparing to become an Auror. Don't get me wrong, I admire anyone that pursues that career, but ….did you ever choose this yourself.'

There was a long silence, merely interrupted by Mary's occasional snores.  
>After a while, Phia spoke.<br>'I never had the freedom to choose. The Ministry had long since watched my every move. I guess they assume that I could become a threat in the future if they don't take me under their wings early enough.'

…

'I'm sorry.'  
>'Don't be. It's not your fault.'<br>Phia smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.  
>Hestia stayed silent for a while, carefully considering her words. She had come to like the small girl next to her, in spite of what the Ravenclaws always preached she was actually pretty okay, just a little careless and snarky at times.<br>'You know…if you ever feel like you need to talk to someone or just want to hang out…you can always come to me.'  
>'Um…', Phia blushed, unsure how to react on such kindness. She was awkward around anyone that wasn't family.<br>'Thank you.', she murmured, scratching her head.  
>Hestia chuckled and ruffled the Ravenclaw's hair affectionately. Apparently, the dark haired witch was not only very moody, but also absolutely clumsy when it came to social interaction.<br>'Don't be like that. And you're welcome. You definitely need to go out and hang out with people more often. Somebody of your age shouldn't be acting this shy.'

And thus a new bond was formed and a friendship forged that would even a path for more relationships, which would coin Phia in a way she never would have expected.


	7. Chapter 6

In all the years of her education at Hogwarts Phia never looked forward to returning to the castle. To her, school was no home. She never felt she belonged into the wizarding world. But she was trapped by her own powers, her skills and intelligence. And the moment she would set off to board the Hogwarts Express, she would long for her family, the loved ones she had to leave behind.

The seventh year, however, was an exception. Hestia and Phia had kept in touch all the way through the summer and after a lot of persuasion, the younger girl finally agreed to sit in the Gryffindor's compartment on their way back to Hogwarts. They had coincidently met in Diagon Alley the week beforehand and surprisingly enough Hestia's friends, Marlene and Mary, were by no means ill-disposed towards Phia. Hestia must've workedsome of_ her_ magic on her friends, pledging for her new friend's good character.  
>Phia approached the platform 9 3 4 with a loudly thumping heart, full of excitement and anxiety.  
>Her brother noticed her tense form and put a reassuring arm around her.<br>Yet again, he was the only one see her off, her parents never dared to go near wizarding folk, too scared that they would stand out, especially after they had taken on reading the articles regarding the disappearances of muggle families in the _The Daily Prophet_.

'Don't be scared, cupcake. You'll be fine. This Hestia girl seemed nice enough to me.', he cooed silently, pressing a kiss into the crown of her hair.  
>'Mh.' She couldn't say anything more than that, her anxiety was starting to take over.<p>

'Phia!', a familiar voice cried. The small girl turned around, and sure enough Hestia Jones flung herself onto Phia, ruffling her short dark hair.  
>'You're late, my little bundle of joy! We've been waiting for you.', the cheerful Gryffindor said in a sing-song voice. 'Let's get to our compartment.'<br>'I'll just say good-bye to my brother, I'll be there in a minute.', Phia assured in a much quieter voice.  
>Hestia, still amused by the shyness of her little friend, squeezed the younger girls cheeks.<br>'Fine, I'll wait for you.'  
>With a small sigh Phia turned to face her brother, her dark eyes growing sad.<br>'Don't look at me like that, cupcake. It's not that long until Christmas. And this time around I will send you letters with that damn owl of yours.', Jasper laughed, squeezing his little sister into a bone-crushing hug.  
>'Look after yourself, Jazz, will you? And keep an eye on Mum and Dad.', the girl murmured into his chest.<br>He pressed another kiss onto her head.  
>'Don't worry about us. You're the one that needs watching. Take care, cupcake.'<br>He stroked her back one last time before releasing her and gently pushing her towards Hestia.  
>'Have a good term, you little bookworm.', he grinned and saluted before turning on his heels. Phia watched his retreating back for a moment until she snapped back into reality and fully concentrated herself on the task at hand.<br>She had to somehow put up with a bunch of giggling seventh years for the whole day and possibly those ahead. It would take a lot of patience from her side to endure that.  
>Hestia held out her hand and smiled.<br>'Let's go.'  
>Phia gladly took it and followed Hestia through the crowd, never discarding her heavy trunk and her barn owl, Ansgard.<p>

They boarded the train and a bunch of male Gryffindors, one of whom Phia recognized as Frank Longbottom offered to hoist the trunk into the compartment, which the girls, of course, gladly accepted. Once the compartment door opened, Phia's heart began to beat so loud that she could hear it in her ears, but she tried her best to put on a composed posture.  
>Hestia smiled a little at this, noticing Phia's struggle, but said nothing. She would loosen up eventually.<p>

'There you are, Hest! Hey Phia.', Mary was the first to greet them, getting up from her seat and enveloping both, Hestia and Phia, into a hug. The latter had to hide her blush, but smiled appreciatively. Mary had been incredibly nice to her ever since Phia had taken care of her earlier in the summer.  
>Marlene followed suit, also in favor of the girl after she had seen how she had hoisted the drunken Mary up and into her bed without a single complaint.<br>The other two girls in the compartment were Alice Prewett and Lily Evans, both whom she was already familiar with due to them visiting the library more often than the average Gryffindor.  
>They greeted each other in a friendly manner and after the boys had ever so graciously stored Phia's trunk inside the baskets they all sat down comfortably, waiting for the Hogwarts Express to leave the platform.<p>

The ride passed by comfortably for Phia, the girls weren't half as 'bad' as she would've thought, though they had their gushy moments, but what else would you expect from a bunch of adolescents?  
>The Gryffindors tried their best to engage the younger Ravenclaw in their conversations and she gladly accepted, trying her best to open up to them.<br>Hestia became her anchor, covering up Phia's shy behavior at times and making sure there wouldn't be any awkwardness. The amount of gratitude Phia felt for Hestia in that moment was inestimable, since she still wasn't used to such kindness, especially coming from 'outsiders'.  
>She also realized that Lily Evans was easily one of the most admirable people she had ever met and somehow seemed to comprehend why James Potter was so incredibly hung up on her.<br>She was not only book-smart as hell, but also very witty and frank, and yet, undoubtedly friendly. Not to mention that she was a definite looker with her pretty face and gorgeous auburn hair.  
>And speaking of the devil, just in that moment when those thoughts had popped into her mind, said male Gryffindor barged into the compartment, followed by his trusty companions.<p>

"Well, if that isn't our dearest petal? Don't look at me like that, I know you've missed my presence throughout the whole summer, Evans, but here I am, yours truly, intending to grace your senses with my phenomenal looks again.", James prattled in a snotty manner, causing Lily's expression to darken considerably, her brows furrowing.  
>"What do you want, Potter?", Lily hissed, her voice unmistakably hostile.<br>This didn't faze James in any way, he seemed to shrug comments like that off as though they were nothing. Phia scrutinized him, trying to read his posture. She _thought_ she saw something flicker in his eyes, but it appears he was quite the actor when it came to rejections.  
>"I merely wish to greet you, now that the new term is about to begin. On top of that, you might want to be informed about this", he pointed to the golden badge on his chest.<br>Lily stared, her eyes almost falling out of the sockets.  
>"You've got to be kidding me.", Alice murmured, looking almost as shocked as Lily.<br>"_You're Head Boy_?", Hestia managed to choke out.  
>"This has to be some kind of joke. Is Dumbledore nuts?", Mary exclaimed.<p>

"Mary, I'm beginning to doubt whether he ever was sane to begin with.", Phia replied with an amused smile, her eyebrows arched.  
>James' head snapped around, surprised. Apparently he hadn't noticed her before. (And she couldn't blame him - nobody would look at her, if she was surrounded by this number of good-looking girls.)<br>His friends, who had remained silent until now, regarded her with their gazes, only Remus and, oddly enough, Sirius seeming unfazed by her presence.  
>Phia felt pressured under their sudden attention and wished instantly that she had just shut up in the first place. Where were the time-turners when you needed them?<p>

"Well, look who we have here? What brings the most honorable student of Hogwarts to this scenery?", James grinned widely at her, and she wasn't exactly sure how she should interpret his words and posture. He didn't _seem_ hostile. But this was James Potter. You never knew with him.  
>"It's a train, Potter, and I don't think I need your consent on where I should sit or not.", she simply stated and became startled by her own voice, for it had lost its former neutrality. Even she couldn't miss the hint of slight irritation.<br>James looked quite dumbfounded, and so did the others. Remus shrunk back slightly, in fear of an outburst – he knew all too well that those could be wicked. A certain memory of Phia in the library, silently fuming, and books ripping themselves to shreds in the air popped into his mind.  
>The girls, however, and especially Mary and Hestia, were rather amused – anybody who dared to talk back to James you-can't-touch-this Potter without fearing any consequences has to be either very stupid or absolutely self-assured that he could do them no harm. And it was out of the question that Phia was way out of James' league.<br>"Geez, I didn't mean it like that. Don't get your panties into a knot.", he replied, struggling with his usual cocky attitude. He did not want to put up a fight with her.  
>"Well, then don't strut around and burst in on our conversation like that. Or I might get <em>your<em> panties into a knot.", Phia retorted, a smug smile forming on her face. Could it be that James Potter was _intimidated by her_?  
>Sirius snorted soundly, and James looked at him, somewhat aghast. He mumbled something along the lines of "Shut up, Pads" and turned his attention back to the girls, who where by now holding back their laughter. He cleared his throat and then singularly addressed Lily, his cheeks tainted in a faint scarlet.<p>

"Anyways, Evans, I think we should have a talk sometime soon, seeing as you are _Head Girl_ and I am _Head Boy_. Especially since I'm not familiar with any of this duty shi-, I mean, stuff, and I'm pretty sure you know very well how to help me out on that."  
>He tried his best to hide his slight embarrassment with his trademark cocky grin, and to his amusement the redhead in question was also blushing only the tiniest bit, before standing up and agreeing to talk with him.<br>"Fine, I'll put up with you, you insufferable moron.", she grumbled with disdain, an annoyed expression plastered on her otherwise gorgeous face.  
>The Marauders snickered and Sirius shut the door, but not without saluting to them. His eyes met with Phia for a split second and she held his gaze steadily, not backing down. He smirked at her and then left, but not before barking a haughty "Farewell, my sweet ladies!" at them.<br>The girls just rolled their eyes, but Hestia in particular eyed their youngest companion with interest. That look Sirius Black had given her was definitely out of the usual. But for now she would not dig into this topic too much. The Ravenclaw was reserved enough already, and boy talk most certainly couldn't be considered until she would eventually open up and reveal herself to them.  
>Hestia smiled a little. She didn't know why, but she had the strange idea that this nondescript girl was likely to offer a fresh breath of air in their lives.<p> 


	8. Chapter 7

The first weeks of the new term flew by in a rush and the seventh years barely had the time to adjust to their new schedules when the first teachers started their preparations and revision schedules for the N.E.W.T.s. Especially subjects like Transfiguration and Potions proved themselves to be not only a mere hassle, but an outright pain in the butt for any student, no matter how ambitious or gifted they were.

Even the infamous Sirius Black and his best friend James Potter, who usually never bothered with anything related to school subjects, had been spotted in the library, doing their homework themselves. There was only that much that Remus could do for them and apparently, he had reached his limits, thus forcing them to do their own work.

Phia Pietzsch, on the other hand, had surprised the whole population of Hogwarts by proving that she was indeed capable of forming bonds that were based on friendship and not only on common scholastic ambitions or being the member of the same house. She finally seemed to blossom in the company of the Gryffindor ladies, especially Hestia Jones and Lily Evans had become close to her. And she managed all of that without ever losing streak in her studies –  
>Two weeks into the new term news reached Hogwarts that the Ravenclaw genius was officially selected as Auror trainee and Ministry employees already potentially saw her as the new Head of the Auror Department.<br>All of this information was passed in a sensational article in The Daily Prophet, one morning in mid-September, and Phia found it impossible to avoid people's curious eyes and whispers that day, not to mention the occasional inquisition by jealous competitors from other houses that also intended to apply for a position as Auror trainee. Her new friends proved themselves to be consoling companions, shielding her from bigger crowds and scaring off anybody that dared to come near her.  
>Though Lily and Alice could not hide their envy for their new fellow, they couldn't begrudge Phia, seeing as this privilege came with so many down sides.<p>

Every other day Phia received owls from the Auror department with the task to figure out a certain spell or potion as 'homework'. Since she had limitless access to the library it was easy for her to collect answers through that, but it wasn't out of the usual to see her solving another riddle from the Ministry until deep into the night. The following mornings she would be utterly exhausted, sometimes too much to even bother with putting on make-up to hide her pitiful state.

Hestia and Lily worried about their new found friend, but didn't dare to interfere. There was no way to stop her from taking on these tasks, even though some of them weren't compulsory. This was where her Ravenclaw pride would come into the game – Phia was never going to back down from any scholastic task or a riddle that had yet to be solved. Her curiosity made it impossible to do so.  
>She still managed to keep up with the usual homework and handed in every paper flawlessly, regularly surpassing the expectations of the teachers.<p>

Sirius often wondered about her during those days, especially since she could be spotted in the Gryffindor common room every now and then, dragged along by her friends. However, no teacher, ghost or portrait ever seemed to complain about the unfamiliar presence, she was a welcome guest to any house.  
>Phia slowly seemed to depart from her former shell, never wholly, but to a certain extent she shed her timid image, revealing her witty self to the world.<br>The marauders now started to warm up to her, James most of all, after his curiosity won over his slight resentment after their encounter on the train. He didn't like being bossed around. But there was no helping it if the person opposite was as intimidating and gifted as Phia Pietzsch.

James was also the first one to dig further into her secrets, being eager to know her capabilities.  
>Thus, during their second week in Hogwarts, when the Gryffindor seventh years had gathered under the trees near the Black Lake in the late afternoon, he cornered her about some of her skills.<br>'Phia, do you know how to cast a Patronus?', James asked straightforwardly, not caring whether he was being too blunt.  
>'Sure I do. The Patronus charm is one of the basics in the defense against the Dark Arts. I don't get how they don't teach this to the student body anymore.', came the reply. Phia had long since given up on hiding her knowledge.<br>James' eyes began to glow in awe and excitement, and the Gryffindors huddled closer together now, all drawn in by the conversation. Even Sirius now focused his attention solely on the Ravenclaw, despite having been, well, _busy _with Mary beforehand. (They had gotten together on their first day back to Hogwarts, but not without making a proper scene in the Great Hall.)  
>'Why do you deem it that important? The Patronus charm is only effective when facing Dementors, and the chances to run into one of those are low unless you're heading straight for Azkaban!', Frank asked. This time, however, Sirius was the one to answer.<br>'You can use your Patronus to deliver confidential messages, it's by far faster than owls and also a lot more discreet. Most skilled wizards use their patronus as a means for communication.'  
>Phia looked at him, a little stunned, but smiled a little. Apparently the notorious womanizer of Hogwarts did have brains, despite all her doubts regarding that.<p>

'Can you show us your Patronus, Phia?', Peter blatantly blurted out.  
>'Um… I guess.', she stuttered slightly, embarrassed by all the attention given to her. She straightened up somewhat and started to concentrate on her happiest memories, when Frank interrupted her.<br>'Aren't you going to use your wand?'  
>'I don't need it.', she simply replied.<br>'Do you even still have a wand? You never seem to use it, anyways.', Marlene jokingly said.  
>Phia rolled her eyes and pulled out her wand from her robes.<br>'Of course, I have one, silly.' She held it out somewhat gingerly, the feeling of the wooden tool unfamiliar in her hands. 'Made of mahagony and phoenix feather, eleven inches.'  
>'It still looks fairly new.', James observed.<br>'I find it hard to channel my magic through the wand. I feel like it limits me, making some spells less effective. After all, a wand is only a medium for a wizard or witch to control their magic, but it isn't necessarily needed.', Phia explained.  
>'Can you cast a Patronus now?', James demanded, acting like a child. Lily snorted from next to Phia; her relationship with James hadn't improved in any way, they still bickered whenever they saw each other. Their positions as Head Boy and Girl made it impossible to avoid one another, giving them enough chances to clash.<p>

Phia nodded and closed eyes, her wand safely stowed away in her robes. She slowly held up her hand, palm facing the sky. Silver fog began to ascend from the skin. Then suddenly a figure erupted from her hand, shooting up into the air, circling the tree.  
>It was an owl.<br>Her spectators mumbled to themselves, most awestruck by what they were seeing. The owl began to glide down and settled on Phia's shoulder for a moment, before disappearing into thin air.

'Awesome.', James breathed.  
>'Your patronus is an owl?', Hestia asked, laughing a little. 'I would've thought it'd be an eagle or something. Considering that you're the prime example of a perfect Ravenclaw…'<p>

Phia chuckled a little, leaning back against the trunk of the tree.  
>'Owls have been my favorite animals ever since I was little. It would be a surprise if my Patronus wasn't an owl! Besides, it's rare that one's Patronus takes on the shape of one of the heraldic animals. Only the heirs of the founders could have them. The lion, the snake, the eagle and the badger were each the Patronus's of the four founders respectively.'<p>

There was a brief silence and the Gryffindors looked at each other somewhat befuddled. Just how did she know all that? Phia sensed their confusion and quickly went on.  
>'I asked the Grey Lady, the ghost of the Ravenclaw tower, about it. While was still alive, she was known to be Helena Ravenclaw, daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw. There is no other soul residing in this castle that possesses more knowledge about the times of the founding of Hogwarts. However, the Grey Lady is quite reluctant when it comes to students from other houses, so I don't recommend you to go up to her and ask her in person. She doesn't like talking about it.'<p>

Her short monologue was followed by another silence, only broken by the clock striking six.  
>'Merlin, what do you not know about this place?', Mary finally muttered, her eyes fixed on the smaller girl.<br>'There's plenty I don't know, yet. The secret passageways of Hogwarts are still a riddle to me. I found most shortcuts to the Ravenclaw tower and the library by now, but the rest of the castle is a labyrinth like no other. There never was a map to Hogwarts, not once during the past thousand years did anybody explore the entirety of this place.'

Upon hearing this, the Marauders became slightly fidgety, glancing at each other in triumph. Phia and Lily noticed their suspicious behavior, but kept it to themselves.

'Can we please talk about something other than this bloody school and magic? _Please_?', Mary pleaded, looking pointedly at Sirius with her large blue eyes. He grinned and kissed her full on the mouth, causing her to giggle.  
>The others just shook their heads or rolled their eyes and went back to their respective conversations.<p>

'So, cupcake,' Hestia began, a mischievous glint in her eyes. 'Rumor has it you'll finally turn off age next week.'  
>Phia looked at her in confusion, not sure what her friend was implying. 'So what?'<br>'So what? _So what_? You do know that we're going to have one hell of a birthday bash for you! You only turn seventeen once!', Marlene exclaimed, a grin plastered on her face. She reached out for Phia and caught her in a headlock, messing up the already tangled dark hair.  
>'Wait a second, baby shrimp is turning seventeen? When?', Sirius shouted.<br>'September 23rd, so next Saturday!', Hestia answered.  
>'Saturday? Perfect, we'll have a party in the Common Room!', James suggested, excited on the prospect of having a party.<br>'Guys, I don't think –'  
>'Oh, shush, my dear little <em>Mabón<em>! We're throwing a party for you. End of discussion!', Marlene yelled the last part, causing all of them to erupt into laughter.

When heading back to the castle Sirius remembered something and pulled Mary behind the others to ask her about it.  
>'What did Marlene call Phia again? I didn't catch that one.', he bashfully scratched the back of his head and shot her one of his trademark grins, melting her on the inside.<br>'She called her _Mabón_, that's her middle name. _Sophia Mabón Pietzsch_. It has its origin from her birthday, apparently her parents choose the name because she was born in the beginning of autumn on the day of the autumn festival which is called 'Mabón'.'  
>'Oh, alright, I didn't know that.'<br>'I think it's cute.', Mary rambled on.  
>'Huh?', Sirius looked at her in confusion.<br>'The name, silly! I think it's really sweet that her parents gave her that middle name, a remainder of her birthday. Phia misses her family a lot, you know. She always carries pictures of them around in her notebook.'  
>Sirius didn't reply to that, never too fond about family talk of any kind. He did, however, remind himself to keep Phia's birthday in mind, and not only because of the party. Despite the fact that he had never really talked to her in person, at least not alone, she had grown on him.<br>He had to think of a present of some sort.  
>And he was going to make sure that it would be her favorite.<p> 


	9. Chapter 8

The day of Phia's birthday arrived faster than she wished; she felt slightly terrified by the upcoming event that her friends were organizing. She hence tried to keep a low profile throughout the whole week, she felt oddly uncomfortable whenever somebody addressed the topic. Unfortunately, when you're hanging out with the likes of Sirius Black and James Potter, avoiding unpleasant topics can become a challenge with a higher degree of difficulty than cleaning Snapes hair.  
>Thus, she focused her thoughts on the most recent letters from the Ministry, researching ancient Alchemy and its link to symbolism in the world of wizards in the library.<p>

On Saturday morning, her birthday, Phia slipped out of the Ravenclaw tower without anybody taking notice of her, long before her classmates were awake. She snuck into the library, greeting Madame Pince in the friendliest manner she could muster this early in the day.  
>Phia conjured up the books she needed and took out her notes and a pen and proceeded with her studies; she was eager to finish this assignment, which had come from Alastor Moody himself, before her crazy friends would start their raid.<br>Understandably, being the notorious bookworm she is, finishing the essay consumed an incredible amount of time, and by lunchtime she was hidden beyond a wall of leather book covers and parchment.

This was the state that Remus found her in when he entered the library after having lunch with his friends; Lily and Hestia had given him the task to escort Phia to the Gryffindor tower – they still had 'plans' with the clueless girl.  
>Remus tried spotting her between the shelves at first, but once he saw the mountain of books he mused that this might be her hiding place, he had figured long ago that this was her favorite way to create some seclusion and space for herself – her peculiar behavior had attracted the curiosity of numerous students from the very beginning.<br>He approached her carefully, not sure how to address her. Remus still was reluctant around Phia, her unpredictable mood swings stopped him from conversing with her longer than it was necessary without coming across as rude.  
>Remus stopped in front of the desk she had occupied, he could see her tousled hair peaking through behind the stacks of parchment. Carefully, he cleared his throat.<br>Once.  
><em>No reaction.<em>  
>Twice.<br>_Still none.  
><em>'Phia?'  
><em>Silence.<em>  
>Running out of patience, he eventually raised his voice.<br>'Shrimp?'  
>'Huh?', Phia's head shot up and she looked at him, dumbfounded, her dark eyes wide and her mouth slightly opened. 'Oh, it's just you, Remus. For a second I expected Sirius. What brings you here?'<br>He was a little befuddled by her friendly answer. Just a few months ago she would've ripped his head off for disturbing her. Now that he thought about it, she had been exceptionally kind for some time now. And looking at her now, he had to admit – she was cute…  
>Remus slightly shook his head. What in the name of Merlin was he thinking about?<br>'Hestia and Lily demand for your presence. I think I heard them mention something about a birthday party of some sort. I don't reckon you know anything on the matter?', he straightened up while speaking, a grin creeping on his face.

'Very funny, Remus.', Phia muttered and closed the book she had been reading. The remaining literature that had been scattered around her immediately started sorting itself and shot back to its rightful places, one after another. She collected her parchment and forcibly stuffed them into her back, from Remus' perspective she could easily write a book with this amount of notes. She grabbed the last book in front of her and clutched it under her arm.'  
>'I suppose you are my escort for the day?', she asked as she came up to him.<br>'I dare say so, Ma'am. Happy Birthday, by the way.', he pulled out a package of Chocolate Skeletons out of his robes and handed them to her. 'Here, I don't think you've had breakfast today. The girls are quite upset with you for ruining their chance to harass you in front of the whole school.'  
>'Thanks Remus, these are my favorites!', Phia beamed happily at the chocolates (his heart jumped the slightest bit at the sight), opening the package without hesitation while passing Madame Pince, who regarded them with a doubtful glance.<br>Yet, she didn't say anything – possibly because she trusted that a Ravenclaw would not abuse such a precious thing like a book by smearing chocolate all over the pages.

Their walk together was surprisingly comfortable; Phia, incredibly happy at the prospect of having been given chocolates, almost skipped all the way to the Gryffindor tower. Remus easily kept up with her, thanks to her being so small and her legs being likewise shorter than his, but it was quite an odd sight to see her in such high spirits. _The things chocolate can do to people_, Remus mused and couldn't hide his smile either. Her good mood was contagious.

When they finally reached the portrait of the Fat Lady Phia even went as far as to shout the password across the whole hallway (thankfully they were the only ones in there).  
>The Fat Lady complied and they hurried though the portrait hole into the Common Room.<br>They were greeted by a choir of 'Happy Birthday's and a cascade of bodies slammed into Phia, also known as Hestia, Marlene and Mary, and crushed her bones in their embrace.

'Get off of me, please!', the youngest whined, struggling to catch her breath.  
>'Not a chance!'<br>'Not in this life!'  
>'You have messed with the wrong people, Missy!'<br>Remus , startled by the sudden attack, seemed somewhat puzzled at what to do. James and Sirius, followed by Peter, joined him, smirks plastered on their face.  
>'So,'<br>'Moony,'  
>'How was it-,'<br>'Your _escort_?'  
>'What are you talking about?', Remus retorted, blushing. Sirius snickered and pinched his cheeks, deciding to tease him a little more.<br>'Our shrimp seemed a little bit too happy when she came in. Tell us, what have you done on your way here?'  
>'I did nothing, Padfoot. I merely gave her some chocolates, it is her birthday after all!', he defended himself.<br>'Yeah, right,'  
>'<em>Chocolates<em>.'  
>Remus groaned and turned away from them.<p>

Meanwhile, the female Gryffindors had been meaning to drag their Ravenclaw friend into their dorms to doll her up for the festivities, but the latter was in no way agreeing to that.  
>'Why now?,', she whined, her brows furrowed in frustration. 'Can't you guys wait a little longer? Like, until after dinner? There's no way I leave this bloody tower all dressed up!'<br>'Oh, come on, have a little faith in us! You'll be irresistible once we're through with you!', Mary begged, affectionately playing with the smaller girls' hair. She knew very well how receptive to any sign of affection Phia was and in such situations she didn't hesitate to make us of this.  
>'Maybe I don't want to be irresistible? I'll end looking like a clown, anyways!'<br>'Oh, shut up and come along now, before we tie you up and drag you upstairs.', Marlene groaned, being the most impatient one out of the girls.  
>'But-'<br>'No more buts, move it, _Mabón_.', Hestia interrupted her and rolled her eyes. She then grabbed her friend and shoved her upstairs, the rest of the group following, with the exception of the boys, of course.

Upon noticing that the girls had left the Common Room, James straightened up and a mischievous glint flittered across his eyes.  
>'Very well, gentlemen. Let's proceed as planned, alright? Wormy, you're in charge of the Kitchens. Moony, you make sure that the Common Room is arranged once we return from Dinner. Pads,'<br>James grinned even wider. 'Are you in for a trip to Hogsmeade?'  
>His best friend returned the gesture and answered. 'I thought you'd never ask, Prongs.'<p> 


	10. Chapter 9

The dorm of the Gryffindor seventh year girls was an outright mess with clothes scattered all around and a small table laden with make-up set up in the very middle.  
>In the chair in front of the table sat a girl, more like a small bundle of wrecked nerves, with a bunch of girls huddled around her, fussing over her.<br>'What should we do about her hair? Her mane is kind of cute, in a way, but maybe we could do something about the frizz?', Marlene asked, fingering through the stubborn dark waves.  
>'Oh, I don't know. Doesn't Lily have this really nice serum thingy? Maybe we could use that?', Mary replied, a brush in her hand, applying the tiniest bit of blush to the pale girl in front of her.<br>'Don't you think we should ask her before using it? Oh, how about this dress? It's the perfect color, don't you reckon?', Hestia cut in, pulling out a pale, grayish blue dress. It looked like it would end just above Phia's knees in terms of length, had short sleeves and a muted white Peter Pan collar.  
>'Merlin, this is adorable! Now, if you paired this up with a cardigan and these Oxfords she always wears-'<br>'Hell, she'll look like the perfect porcelain doll!', Mary half-squealed in joy.

Phia's face contorted slightly, a little frightened by the outfit laid out for her.  
>'Don't look like that. You'll look wonderful!', Hestia laughed and put the clothes on her bed, which was right next to Lily's. Just then, said person entered the dorm, followed by Alice and upon seeing the Ravenclaw both let out a shout of joy and loudly expressed their best wishes for her birthday.<br>Phia humbly thanked them, but was cut off by Marlene asking for Lily's hair serum.  
>'Oh, of course you can use it! There's no need to ask.', she replied and ran off into the bathroom attached to the dorm.<br>'There, I'm done with her make-up!', Mary exclaimed, obviously happy with the result.  
>'Fantastic work! You even managed to cover up those horrendous dark circles!', Alice chimed in.<br>'They were a bummer to hide, I'm telling you!', Mary rolled her eyes.  
>'They're not that bad anymore. Madam Pince shushes me out of the library a lot these days, so I don't get to finish all of my assignments as fast as I would want to.', the young Ravenclaw grumbled with distatste.<br>'Madam Pince is very right in doing so! You need some rest. When did you get up today, five in the morning?', Lily chided when she returned from the bathroom, a bottle with a honey colored liquid in her hands.  
>'You're one to be talking, Lily! You rarely leave before midnight, either! Besides, it was a quarter past six already.', Phia shot back, somewhat agitated by her friends' scolding.<br>'I'm the Head Girl, I have duty until then anyways! Someone has to watch out, after all James doesn't contribute much!', Lily defended herself, crossing her arms in front of her after she'd handed the bottle to Marlene.

Marlene opened the bottle and smelled it appreciatively. 'Seriously, where do you get this from? This works like sorcery! And the smell is divine. There's definitely honey in it, and also almond oil, I think?'  
>'Yes, there is, but also loads of other ingredients! I got this from my grandmother when she went to France. I've been refilling it by magic for at least two years now, because I run out of it quite fast!', Lily laughed.<br>'Ah, the French are renowned for their fantastic beauty products.', Hestia sighed. 'Their perfumes are pretty good, too?'  
>Phia got even more nervous. Perfume? She despised the smell of perfume more the anything.<br>'Don't make that face, we won't use any scents on you.', Mary laughed while Marlene applied the serum to Phia's hair, running it through the waves with her fingers.  
>'Can I see myself now?', the Ravenclaw asked .<br>'Not until we're done!', Hestia replied from her bed. Alice and Lily had sat down next to her, casually watching the procedure. After a couple of minutes she was done.

'Now for the dress.', Hestia got up and handed it to Phia.  
>'Go ahead, put it on!', she shushed her into the bathroom, but not before taking off the mirror and hiding the reflective side.<br>Phia sighed and closed the door once her friend had exited. She looked at the clothes in her hand. The colors were just fine, but she was worried about the cut. Realizing that it wouldn't do much good to alter the dress and face the wraths of the girls as a result, she took off her clothes and slipped into the dress. She put the cardigan over it and went out of the room.  
>Upon hearing the bathroom door open, the girls immediately huddled around the door. When Phia entered the dorm, multiple gasps went around the room, followed by Mary 'aw'-ing at the sight.<br>'We are geniuses.', Marlene exclaimed.  
>'Absolutely brilliant. But I don't think we can go without the escort of the boys at all today.', Hestia agreed. The others just nodded.<br>'Can I see myself now?', Phia pleaded, feeling pressured under their gaze.  
>Hestia held up the mirror she had taken off the walls in the bathroom in front of her. Phia's eyes widened.<br>'Is that really me?', she asked in small voice.  
>The make-up had done quite a good job on her. Though Mary had merely applied some light pink blush her cheeks, concealer on her dark circles and loads of mascara, she could see that her features were considerably enhanced. Her hair now looked smooth and shiny, not so much unlike Lily's in texture and the dress did compliment her figure and coloring.<br>'Yup, that's you, _cupcake_.', Alice teased. She had found herself loving the nickname Phia's brother had given the young girl and used it a lot to patronize her.

'Well then, let's get downstairs!', Mary shouted, making them cover their ears. Hestia put the mirror back up in the bathroom and the girls hurriedly cast some spells to clean up the room before leading the birthday girl back down into the Common Room.  
>Downstairs Remus had taken on the responsibility and assigned various sixth and seventh years to change up the furniture after dinner. He would then decorate the room himself.<br>He was, however, interrupted in his speech when he saw Phia walking down the stairs, the girls huddled around her.  
>'Merlin's beard!', he muttered and the boys around him turned around to see the cause of his speechlessness which resulted in them gaping, as well.<br>Phia shrunk back slightly upon feeling people look at her. She hated drawing too much attention, it was why she always sat in the very back in classes in the first place.  
>'You definitely outdid yourselves, ladies. Phia, you look great.', Remus managed to choke out.<br>The girls chuckled at his reaction. 'Thank you, Remus. We know we're fantastic.', Marlene laughed.

They sat down on the couches in front of the fireplace, leaving the boy's to their tasks, when the rest of the Marauders burst into the Common Room, causing a commotion as always.  
>'Oh, seems like the transformation has been completed! Show us the result!', James yelled across the room, causing Phia to groan out loud. More attention. Fantastic.<br>They rushed over and came to a halt before crashing into the couch. James nodded approval and Sirius let out a whistle, while Peter could do nothing but stare.  
>'I think you might consider hiding her for today. Or set up a bodyguard. I don't think it's safe for her to exit the tower like that.', said Sirius seriously.<p>

'We will do no such thing! She has to go to dinner, after all! And I don't think she has opened the presents from her family, yet!', Hestia interjected.  
>'Um, I did open them, Hest. My owl brought them overnight.', Phia replied in a low voice.<br>'What? _Mabón_, why didn't you tell us? We've already planned the escort to the Ravenclaw tower!', Mary whined dramatically.  
>'With roses raining down before you and the armors walking and-'<br>'Mary, stop exaggerating.', Marlene interfered.  
>'But-'<br>'Mary.', Sirius chided in a low voice, a smirk on his face, cupping her chin with his index finger.  
>The blonde blushed under his gaze and shushed immediately. Phia felt her gag reflex reacting upon their cheesiness and Lily let out an audible 'bleh', which in turn made the others snort out loud.<br>'Guys, cut it out.', Marlene simply stated in her trademark authoritative voice.  
>Sirius merely rolled his eyes and focused back on the small Ravenclaw in front of him. He felt a strange urge to protect her when looking at her in her new attire. She looked even more fragile now than she ever did before.<br>'Geez, I think I'm developing an older brother complex or something. Phia, you look like a little doll!', James shuddered slightly.  
>'I couldn't agree more, Prongs. She looks adorable.', Sirius nodded gravely.<br>'Are you sure you're not the one from whom she needs to be protected, Sirius?', Alice laughed.  
>'Alice, how could you imply something like that?', Sirius asked, acting overly exasperated. He did have a theatrical bent, good old Sirius.<br>'I'm just stating the truth, really.', Alice stuck her tongue out slightly.  
>Sirius, who had shoved his hands into his pockets throughout the whole time, suddenly started fidgeting with the charm bracelet he had kept in there the whole day. He mentally slapped himself.<br>'Alice you're hurting my feelings! How can you accuse me like this?', his pitch went higher and he even went as far as to put on an unrecognizable accent to sound more dramatic.  
>'Merlin, Sirius, cut it out!', Marlene groaned, while the others just laughed.<p>

Phia laughed along with them, but also observed her surroundings. She had settled down between her friends and seemed a little more at ease now. Yet, she had the feeling that something was different about everyone's posture today and in a way she had the strange premonition that something possibly significant was going to happen later. But she didn't want to let this thought get to her. Surely, she was just nervous about them throwing a party. Last time, she remembered, their party got a little out of hand. But it was also due to that (and Mary being absolutely wasted and incapable of walking) that she was now getting on with them so well.  
>Surely, nothing would change.<p> 


	11. Chapter 10

The change Phia had welcomed the least after she started hanging out with the Gryffindors, was the fact that people didn't go out of their way to avoid her anymore. Random students found it easier to approach her now, seeing as she wasn't as cold and indifferent in person as everyone had made her out to be. But it also came with a certain downside: she was now in the center of the school gossip and some people had taken on the habit of staring at her wherever she went.

Her dramatic change in appearance for her birthday didn't help much to improve the situation; the second she entered the Great Hall for dinner with her friends, whispers went around the tables and eyes followed her as she got seated. Oddly enough she found herself sitting between Sirius and James at the Gryffindor table and, thanks to their loud and obnoxious behavior, she could practically feel the whole school watching her. She started fiddling with the hem of her dress, her shoulders stiff, eyes darting around the hall nervously. Sirius casted worried glances at her now and then, but decided to brush it off. He knew all too well that she did not approve of him patronizing her in any way. He left that spot for James, Alice, Lily and Hestia.  
>James, though, didn't have the delicacy to simply let her be and, triggered by his new urge to pamper the small girl, began to coo over her, asking for her well-being and piling mountains of food on her plate. Phia thus had no other option than to forcibly shove down the things James had put down her plate, trying to shut out his constant bickering because of her lack of appetite.<br>'Prongs, I think you should stop now. She can barely chow anymore.', Remus intervened, feeling immensely sorry for the girl.  
>'But Moony, she needs to eat! Look at her, she's way too tiny.', James whined, poking her in the sides. Phia let out a small squeak, startling the people sitting nearby, and threw James an angry glare. He shrunk back a little under her gaze, but kept his composure. He was getting used to her death glares and he knew that Phia would never intentionally harm someone.<br>'As far as I remember her mother is just as small as her. And it's not like she could still grow at this age, anyways.', Lily said in a knowing voice, remembering the first time she saw Phia's family at the platform. Mrs. Pietzsch was of exactly the same build, small and delicate-looking, which was quite an odd sight if one compared the two females to the tall and bulky father and the equally tall, but a little less bulky older son.  
>'Now you turn your back on me, too, Evans! You're the one that patronizes her the most!', James huffed angrily, crossing his arms in the most childish way imaginable.<br>Lily merely rolled her eyes and concentrated on her dinner, again.  
>'Sorry to break this down to you, Prongsie, but Evans is nowhere near as ridiculous in her actions as you are.', Sirius chimed in with a smirk on his face.<br>'Besides, she's always had a knack for mothering people.', Mary added, grinning.  
>'Even when it's unasked for.', Phia went on, sticking her tongue out at the glaring redhead.<p>

'Oh, come on, guys, stop bickering already! Just finish eating so that we can head upstairs again.', Hestia intervened.  
>The others muttered their agreement, focusing on their food, Phia visibly struggling with it. Only James audibly voiced his objections, but he was hushed by his friends in a not so kind way. (Sirius charmed the pumpkin juice in James's cup to splash up into his face and turn into a green and sticky paste. Phia almost choked on her food while holding back her laughter.)<br>The were the last students to leave the Great Hall, only Remus and Mary had left early to decorate the Common Room, and Phia found it hard to walk due to her stomach bursting with food. Sirius laughed at this and offered to carry her upstairs, but she refused to even let him get within an arm range.  
>Once they entered the Gryffindor Common Room, Phia's jaw literally hit ground.<br>They had moved all of the furniture to the side and next to the fireplace a huge table with all kinds of foods and drinks had been arranged. Music was playing, filling up the space and they had hung up numerous royal blue and scarlet garlands. Candles were floating close to the ceiling, very much like the ones in the Great Hall and the lightening was darker and cozier than before.  
>'Happy birthday, cupcake.', Hestia said, snaking her arms around her small friend's shoulders from behind.<br>'Thank you, guys.', Phia choked out, stunned and touched by the scenery.  
>'No biggie, shrimp!', Sirius called from across the room, handing out firewhiskey to fifth and sixth year, which in turn resulted in a major scolding by a not so impressed Lily.<br>Suddenly Mary, Marlene and Alice came up to Phia and Hestia, each of them holding a small package.  
>'We didn't really know what to get you at first. We thought about books, but I highly doubt that you need any more of those. You own half a library already.', Alice began, a smile playing on her lips.<br>'So instead we thought that a present that reminds you of us would be a lot more fitting. It's our way of letting you know that you're not alone anymore.', Mary continued.  
>'You didn't have to get me anything.', Phia protested, but was shushed by the older girls.<br>'You're already wearing Hestia's present. And now we're going to add some things to your outfit.', Marlene grinned and handed Phia her package.  
>The girl gingerly took it, carefully opening up the paper. It was a small silver ring with delicate red and blue gems studded all over.<br>'We figured that blue and red would be the most appropriate colors to represent all of us. Come on, put it on!', Hestia spoke from behind her. Phia complied and slid the ring on her finger.  
>Next was Mary. Phia opened her present with the same restraint and care. This time it was a hair slip with a small owl on it. Mary took it and carefully pushed a strand of hair out of Phia's face, twirling it before securing it with the slide.<br>'There you go.', she smiled and Phia couldn't help but return the gesture.  
>Lastly Alice stepped forward and handed the last package. The third present turned out to be a pair of earrings in the shape of opened books. Phia chuckled. 'I thought you didn't want to get me books?'<br>'Well, we ultimately decided that we couldn't wholly go without them. You need something to accentuate your bookwormishness.', Mary grinned.  
>'Mary, that's not even a word.', Phia laughed.<br>'Well, now it is.', the blonde pouted, causing the others to erupt into laughter, as well.  
>'Thank you, guys, really.', Phia spoke, a small lump in her throat. Hestia squeezed her slightly to reassure her.<br>'You're welcome, little one.', Marlene replied.

Phia put the earrings in (luckily she hadn't worn any throughout the whole day) before being pulled along to the drinks by the girls. Various other Gryffindors congratulated her now, some of them were complete strangers to her, others she had seen or even talked to before. She noticed that some boys were especially friendly, but tried to shake it off.  
>Peter then handed them glasses of firewhiskey, but not without saying a toast to the birthday girl.<br>They then proceeded to the middle of the room to join the dancing crowd, Phia followed somewhat unwillingly.  
>'Hest, I absolutely can't dance.', she whined.<br>'Don't be like that. Loosen up a little, you'll like it.', her friend returned.  
>Phia merely sighed and followed, hiding herself among the people, hoping she wouldn't stand out too much. When she felt that her friends wouldn't notice her absence, she slipped out of the crowd. She maneuvered herself to a side wing of the Common Room that was usually deserted. This time however, somebody was already there.<br>It was none other than Sirius. He was leaning against a window sill, hands in his pockets, looking outside into the deep night sky.  
>Phia was reluctant at first, unsure whether she should approach him. But as he noticed her, he shot her a welcoming and friendly smile that was so unlike his usual arrogant posture and so incredibly charming that she couldn't help but comply.<br>'How come you're here, all by yourself?', she asked.  
>'I could ask you the same thing. I thought this is your party.', he replied. Even his voice sounded slightly altered, calmer.<br>'I'm sick of being forced to dance.', Phia rolled her eyes.  
>'That bad?', he arched one eyebrow.<br>'Worse.', Phia retorted. She kept a small distance between them, a little unsure how to go on.  
>'Still, in comparison to last time you could call your attitude right now a considerable improvement.', Sirius smiled at her encouragingly.<br>'That's not my feat, though. If it weren't for the girls I'd still be in my little nutshell.', she admitted.  
>'That might be true, but you should cut yourself some slack. You've been incredibly civil, even when the girls aren't around. Right now for example.'<br>She let out a chuckle. 'Well, you've been nowhere near as insufferable recently as you where before.'  
>'Thanks for the compliment.', Sirius rolled his eyes.<br>'You're welcome.', Phia grinned broadly.  
>Sirius observed her for a moment, pondering over something, before he pulled something out of his pocket.<br>'This is for you.'

He opened his hand and Phia leaned over curiously. She let out a gasp. It was a bracelet with a simple silver chain and a charm attached to hit. Phia took it and observed it closely.  
>It was a small dog. She marveled over the detailing, it was perfectly polished.<br>'Thank you, Sirius.', she breathed, stunned by the gift.  
>'It's not worth mentioning, really. I figured that the girls were going to give you something with an owl already,' he eyed the hair slip, 'but I like dogs better. Besides, dogs are said to be loyal companions and very protective. I thought it would fit, you know, with you being a prospective Auror. If anybody needs protection and loyal companions out of us it would be you.'<br>Phia was at a loss for what to say. He had put so much thought into his gift, even though they weren't even close. She wrecked her brain for an answer, but struggled to find the right words.  
>'That's really considerate of you. I appreciate it.', she finally managed to say.<br>Sirius let out a barking laugh. 'Stop being so stiff.'  
>He ruffled her hair affectionately. Phia was a little baffled by his behavior, but decided that she found this side of him quite likable. She tried putting the bracelet on, but her clumsy hands didn't seem to comply.<br>'Here, let me help you.', Sirius suddenly said. He took the bracelet and in one swift movement closed the chain around her wrist.  
>'There you go, little one.', he cooed playfully, pinching her nose.<br>'What the hell?', Phia blurted out, brows furrowing.  
>'Phia? Sirius?', a familiar voice cut through the darkness.<br>'Mary?', Phia turned around. The blonde stood in the middle of the hallway, awkwardly fiddling with her dress.  
>'Babe, is anything wrong?', Sirius inquired, his voice back to its usual tone. Phia tried her hardest to whip the frown off her face. She couldn't help but feel that he always put up a façade when it came to his 'girlfriends'.<br>'No, no, it's nothing, I was just wondering where the two of you were…', Mary began trailing off. Phia didn't begrudge her for sounding suspicious. Sirius had never been the loyal type of guy.  
>'Oh, we were just trying to get a bit of fresh air.', Sirius said reassuringly.<br>'Come on, let's get back in.', he then added, addressing Phia. She merely nodded.  
>As they were walking towards Mary, Sirius randomly ruffled through Phia's hair again, completely messing it up. She glared at him and as soon as he passed she bumped into him with full force, a wicked grin on her face.<br>'What the- YOU LITTLE-', he blurted out and grabbed her by the waist, tickling her sides.  
>'No, no, no, no, NO! STOP IT!', Phia squealed between laughs, trying to shake him off, but without any success due to Sirius's obvious physical superiority. (6'1 against 5'5. Not exactly fair and square.)<p>

Mary just stood there helplessly, not sure how to react. She found the scene that was happening in front of her eyes too grotesque, and yet it looked so natural. Despite their differences they matched, Sirius and Phia. In the past three weeks her doubts had been torturing her, even though she couldn't be happier with Sirius. And though she knew all too well that Phia was the last person to ever betray her, she couldn't help but feel suspicious and a little jealous. Sirius rarely acted like this. He was reckless, but never truly care-free, and open displays of affection without any hints of flirtation were seldom unless you were James, Remus or Peter.  
>As these thoughts ran through her mind, Phia finally managed to escape Sirius's grip, her chest heaving and her stomach hurting. Sirius gestured towards the doorway, one arm behind his back, in a gentlemanly way. Phia narrowed her eyes, not trusting him one bit. She slowly passed him and suddenly an unpleasant noise coming from Sirius's mouth. He slightly bent over, eyes bulging.<br>'What the-', he choked out, looking at the small Ravenclaw in disbelief.  
>She had just pulled up his underwear by magic and the fabric was squeezing his private parts in the most uncomfortable angle imaginable, causing him to stand there in an awkward pose.<br>The Ravenclaw snorted and Mary clasped her hand over her mouth, suppressing a giggle.  
>The girls looked at each other mischievously before hurriedly taking off, Sirius bellowing through the hall, cursing them to hell.<br>They burst into the Common Room, erupting into laughter and creating quite a commotion. Sirius followed suit moments later, beyond furious.  
>'You didn't seriously think you could get away with that, did you?', he growled bitterly, closing in on the small girl.<br>'Sirius, I _know_ I will get away with it.', Phia shot back, grinning.  
>'Oh, really.', he replied, reaching for his wand. Gasps went around the room, but nobody dared to interfere.<br>'Are you trying to pick a fight with me?', her voice carried the tone of disbelief, fueling his anger.  
>He had just raised his wand when it slipped out of his hand, floating above him. Laughter rang around the room. He took a step towards her, but was suddenly lifted up by his ankles. He tried adjusting to his surroundings, when he realized that something was wrong with his hair.<br>'Oh, no, you didn't.'  
><em>'I have got to admit, Sirius. Baby blue definitely is your color.'<em>


	12. Chapter 11

Everyone had seen it coming, but they all had turned away their heads from the matter, hoping that their predictions would be false. However, when it came to Sirius and his dubious antics in relationships any prediction concerning a break up was bound to become a reality.  
>Granted, he did have the delicacy to not pick up any flings for weeks until he was sure that Mary had somewhat gotten over their break up, but that didn't change the fact that his relationship with all of the girls had considerably worsened ever since.<br>Marlene was beyond outraged when she found Mary crying in the dorms. Apparently, Sirius's reasoning had been that he was incapable of having a romantic relationship of any sort and a continuation of their liaison would, according to him, get them nowhere.  
>Needless to say, Marlene literally tried to rip him to pieces when she spotted him near at Black Lake. In the end, Phia had to step in and conjured up ropes to bind the enraged brunette down. One should not mess with an angry Marlene McKinnon unless they had a death wish…or were Phia Pietzsch.<br>Though Marlene easily forgave Phia for intervening, she did not do Sirius the same favor.  
>It was inevitable that the bonding between the Marauders and the girls had come to a temporary halt, very much to the distaste of a certain Black who had taken a liking of Phia, despite the frequent arguments that followed her turning Sirius's hair blue. He had somehow managed to be assigned as her permanent partner in Potions after Slughorn had taken notice of the tension and awkwardness between Sirius and Mary. Both being brilliant minds and talented beyond measure, Phia and Sirius became the ultimate duo, though constantly bickering, they brewed every potion to utter perfection, exasperating Lily and Snape by doing so. They complemented each other tremendously; Phia possessed the correctness and eye for detail that Sirius lacked, while his resolute character canceled out her constant pondering over things which had previously slowed her down while brewing potions. He also came to appreciate her impartiality when it came to him and Mary, though he knew she didn't approve of his actions.<br>Sirius learned various things about Phia; she was an incurable collector of all kinds of things, even if it was just her own sketches, which by the way were brilliant or irrelevant things like oddly shaped stones and pebbles. She always carried around various notebooks, some she wouldn't show to him, others were for her assignments from the Ministry. He also found out that even Phia had her un-Ravenclaw-like moments when she discarded school and those were in no other subject than History of Magic. She revealed that she used to take naps throughout Professor Binns's utterly boring lectures, but had now taken on the habit of solving the tasks sent by the Auror Department during those lessons since she rarely ever found the time to do them after classes anymore. (All thanks to Lily who regularly kicked her out of the library before midnight.)  
>Sirius found himself enjoying Phia's company more than he would've considered possible.<br>This did not go unnoticed by any of their friends, but none raised objections after Mary had declared that she would not try to spoil this newly found friendship despite her bitterness towards Sirius.

Mary got over Sirius faster than anybody would have expected, since most were aware of the admiration she had harbored for him since years. And though her next boyfriend, Amos Diggory, was no friend in the books of the Marauders after his encounter with James in the past summer due to his attempted pursuit of a certain redhead, they surprisingly let him live on unscratched by any pranks. And that was a feat in itself – the Marauders refusing to prank someone? Just a year ago anybody would've assumed that to be impossible. And while none of them ever dropped their inclination for mischief, it seemed as though they were very slowly, but surely maturing.  
>This raised the curiosity of Lily; James had increasingly started to take his tasks as Head Boy a little more seriously and by the end of October they were capable of having a conversation without being at each other's throats immediately.<br>Sirius and Phia were by then the talk of the whole school because of their undeniable increasing closeness (though neither one of them would willingly admit that at first).  
>They replaced James and Lily with their bickering and Sirius was regularly outwitted by the Ravenclaw which in return stunned most of the spectators of their frequent quarrels.<p>

One would have called these days the happy ones, the ones without worry and no obstacles other than exams, due papers and, in some people's cases, the full moon. And if one excluded the repeated reports of missing people and deaths, those days truly were blessed. Under the consoling protection of Professor Dumbledore scarcely any harm reached the students of Hogwarts. Aspiring Death Eaters didn't dare to show their true faces as long as the headmaster reigned and thus the houses coexisted as peacefully as they possibly could with their differences.  
>Only a handful of students knew what was to come once they left the school boundaries forever and even less were convinced they were ready to face the danger that lingered beyond the safety of Hogwarts and their homes.<br>One student in particular was haunted by an untypical frightfulness.  
>Phia found it harder to catch even the smallest wink of sleep as the year progressed, constantly on edge for owls from her family. She was watching out for any sign that Death Eaters were closing in on them. She had plotted out various strategies on how and where to hide them, ready to strike as soon as the slightest hint of foreign magic approached her parents or her brother.<br>On top of that, the difficulty of her assignments from the Auror Office steadily increased, sometimes consuming weeks. The assignments now demanded far more knowledge than she ever had needed to use before. She knew she was already skipping a year's worth of theoretical Auror training and the thought of what was to follow shook her, but something told her it was her duty to do these things.  
>Her friends, of course, caught on to her altered behavior throughout the passing months; Hestia, Lily and later on even James and Sirius cornered her about it, but it seemed impossible to get any clear statement from her. She would dismiss it as tiredness, but none of them were fooled by her excuses. There was more to her restlessness, they knew that much.<br>Hestia had already suspected that there was more to the girl than she let on since she witnessed Phia using magic outside school without setting off the trace.  
>The marauders realized that other than her habit to levitate everything and anything at her will she also frequently installed a strong shielding charm around herself, and occasionally also around her friends, especially if they went out for Hogsmeade trips (legally and illegally).<br>The girls who hung around her more frequently noted her increasing tension and a drastic weight loss which left the young Ravenclaw looking gaunt and lifeless.  
>Something was happening inside Phia's head, something that was potentially self-destructive.<p>

Slowly, feelings of apprehension built up, all the way through the wet November and the beginning of December until the last day before Christmas holiday had arrived.  
>Knowing that a proper conversation was impossible during the ride on the Hogwarts Express, Sirius searched for an opportunity to finally tackle her. After a long and heated discussion among the four of them – Hestia, Lily, Sirius and the ever so brotherly James – they decided that Sirius was the one who could possibly get her to spill, considering his nearly infallible charm ( even though his charm never seemed to work on Phia as it worked on others). He was shocked to hear that Phia rarely confided to the girls despite their obvious closeness. Apparently, her wish to not burden her friends was greater than her need to talk to somebody.<br>Upon realizing in the morning that she wouldn't join them for breakfast or lunch in order to catch up with her work in the library, Sirius decided to wait outside until she showed up. He knew that she habitually left around two in the afternoon to briefly go to her dorm in the Ravenclaw tower.  
>And, as predicted, as the clock struck two a dishevelled and stressed out Phia hurried out of the library and ran right into Sirius.<br>'Careful, little one. I know you have a fondness for bumping into my gorgeous self, not that I mind, but a little more caution wouldn't hurt, you know.', he said laughing, following _his_ habit of ruffling her tousled dark mane.  
>'Shut your trap, Sirius.', Phia growled and swatted his hand away. He merely smirked and shoved both his hands into his pockets. 'Why are you here?'<br>'Well, I haven't seen much of you these days, so I thought it would be very much appropriate to pick you up and take you out for a walk.', Sirius replied casually.  
>'Sirius, you know I have stuff to do-'<br>'I know and I don't really give a damn. Merlin knows you need to get out of this bloody library. You could challenge any ghost residing in this castle with your paleness!'  
>He somewhat gruffly took her by the wrist and pulled her long, and miraculously enough Phia followed along without further complaints, which, however, to Sirius was a sign that her exhaustion had taken on greater measures than he had assumed. He slowed down as they got closer to the gate, his grip on her softening.<br>'Do we really have to go outside? It's freaking _cold_.', she muttered in distress.

Sirius looked at her worriedly. The bags under her eyes had darkened and deepened, her lips were pale, her hair slightly unkempt. She looked as though she hadn't slept in days. He sighed under his breath and as they reached the gate he gently shoved her outside the castle.  
>Phia hissed as the cold air cut into her skin and squinted her eyes at the bright snow. She clearly hadn't been outside for a while.<br>'You know, you wouldn't feel this cold and weak if you were sleeping properly.', Sirius remarked, trying to sound nonchalant as he lead them towards the trees by the lake.  
>Phia eyed him with apparent anger. 'So this is what you're all about? Another lecture?'<br>She halted, ready to turn on her heels and return to the castle. Sirius caught her hand and dragged her forward.  
>'I'm not Lily, okay? I won't lecture you, I'm just trying to talk to you! Can't you see that we're worried?', Sirius grunted, his own temper flaring.<br>Not too long ago it seemed as though Phia was opening up to everyone, sharing their jokes and mischievousness, charming people with her wit. Then, suddenly, she had begun to retreat, shortly after she started showing first symptoms of exhaustion and sickness. She from the on distanced herself from her friends, only meeting them if it was absolutely inevitable.  
>'I've told you time and time and again that there is no need to worry about me!'<br>'You're lying and you know it. Just look at yourself', Sirius came to a halt and took in her pitiful appearance in broad daylight. 'You're nothing but a skeleton these days!'  
>'I don't have a lot of appetite when work starts piling up.', she defended herself, squirming under his scrutinizing eyes.<br>'You used to eat mountains of food just a couple of months ago. Now you barely have one meal. You cannot tell me that this is normal!'  
>Phia didn't reply, but merely rolled her eyes in defiance, frustrating Sirius further.<br>'Phia, we're your friends. We are supposed to be there for you when you troubled. Stop shutting us out.'  
>She didn't dare to look at him directly, hence gazing at a point behind him.<br>'There's no need for you to burden yourselves with my problems.'  
>'For fuck's sake, stop acting like a martyr!', he roared. She ducked her head, shoulders up, in a self-defensive way.<br>Immediately regret shot through Sirius. After he had calmed himself, taking a few deep breaths, he went on, his voice a lot gentler, but also raspier than before.  
>'We already know that there are things that you're not ready to tell us. Everybody has their secrets, their stories and I believe that you have more than one to tell. But don't shut us out completely. And I'm not doing this entirely on my behalf, either, even though I assume that you know that already.'<br>Phia still wouldn't look up, but his calm words sunk into her skull, stirring something inside her.  
>'Don't make Hestia and Lily suffer like this anymore. And Marlene, Alice and Mary,' he notably struggled with the last name, 'Stop being so bloody stubborn for once in a while. And for the love of the Gods, Phia, <em>please<em>, eat something before we have to force-feed you.'  
>Sirius watched her carefully throughout the silence that followed. Her head hung low and from what he could tell she was biting her lip rather violently. He slowly reached out for her face, raising it. She pushed his hands away and pressed the sleeves of her robes to her face, stifling a sob.<br>Instinctively, Sirius gathered the small girl into his arms, murmuring coos, hushing her. He wasn't exactly sure as to why he was acting this way, it was unusual of him to react like this to a girl. But it felt right to soothe her in that moment, hence he brushed the strange, new feeling in his gut off.  
>Phia muttered a string of apologies into his chest and he replied by nuzzling his face into her hair, telling her that it was alright.<p>

Once her sobs had subsided she slowly detached herself from him, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to make them look less teary. Sirius merely chuckled and ruffled her hair, like he always did. It was a display of affection that was reserved only to her, he had noticed.  
>'Seriously, you're starting to act like Jazz.', Phia mumbled.<br>Sirius arched his eyebrow, an amused, but slightly quizzical expression dancing across his eyes.  
>Phia rolled hers in return. 'I'm saying that you act like my older brother.'<br>Sirius snorted. 'Well, now that's odd. I was never that much of a good older brother as far as my family is concerned.'  
>'Your family is completely nutters, Sirius.', Phia stated, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.<br>'True.' He showed her one of his wide grins, not the lopsided smirks he shot the ladies to charm them, but a genuine, cheerful grin.  
>'Let's get back inside. You need food first – I'll show you the way to the kitchens.'<br>He grabbed her hand again, feeling content when doing so. Phia stumbled over her own feet in the snow a couple of times, trying her best to catch up with him. He was so much taller, stronger and more agile that it was hard to keep up with his pace even if they were on steady ground, yet, they were wading through two feet deep snow.  
>Growing impatient, Sirius grabbed her and scooped her up, placing her torso on his shoulders and carrying her back to the castle.<br>'Sirius, put me DOWN!', the Ravenclaw screeched.  
>'Not a chance, <em>sis<em>.' He put emphasis on the last word and Phia couldn't help but smile.  
>People stared at them as they passed by, but neither of them bothered.<br>Once they were inside the Entrance Hall, Sirius put her down and immediately resumed to dragging her along by her wrist again.  
>'Sirius, why can't we just wait until dinner?', the younger one whined.<br>'Because you need to eat right now. Besides', he looked at her with a wide grin, 'it's about time you learned about the secret passageways of this castle. You said nobody ever managed to map out Hogwarts entirely-'  
>'Yes, because it's impo-'<br>'It _is_ possible, dear little one. _We_ did it!', he pulled her closer, his eyes brightening up with elation. Phia immediately knew whom he meant with 'we'. James, himself, Remus and Peter.  
>'You're kidding.', she breathed.<br>'Nope, I'm not. I'll show you in the dorm. But first things first – we're off to annoy some houselves for loads of toast, bacon and muffins!'  
>'You are bonkers.', she proclaimed with a chuckle.<br>'So are you. Welcome to the family.', he tugged at her hand, firmly grasping it with his own.  
>Phia broke into a fully fledged smile now, very much contributing to Sirius's joy. He instantly intertwined his fingers with hers as they descended down the stairs in the direction of the Hufflepuff Common Room, noting how small and tender they felt in his grasp. The fuzzy feeling in the pits of his stomach returned, though this time he didn't try to shake it off, but instead mistook it for something along the lines of adrenalin, thinking he was merely excited by the prospect of showing Phia the kitchens.<br>Oh, little did Sirius know…


	13. Chapter 12

'This is absolutely amazing!', Phia breathed in a raspy voice. They were huddled on Sirius's bed in the male Common Room, the Marauder's map spread over both their legs. Empty plates were piling up next to them and the Ravenclaw occasionally munched on a slice of utterly delicious pumpkin pie.  
>Sirius observed her carefully as she slowly unfolded the parchment, tracing along the footsteps of some students and teachers. A smile crept onto his face. He realized that he had been smiling and laughing a lot more these past hours than he had for weeks, and this was all thanks to the fragile girl sitting next to him that very moment.<br>James sat across from them on his own bed, Remus und Peter next to him, all of them shooting Sirius sly grins every now and then, hoping to irk him. Yet, he was very much capable of ignoring his friends in the presence of Phia.  
>'When did you discover all of these passageways?', she inquired.<br>'We found most of them in our third and fourth year, the last ones in fifth year.', Peter said proudly.  
>'But the basic design of the map already had been set since our third year here, I think. Back then remembering all the shortcuts to avoid Filch was extremely hard to do, but by now we all know the castle by heart.', Sirius added.<br>'And the names? I mean, I understand Remus's, but-'  
>'What did you just say?', James blurted out, befuddled.<br>'I know he's a werewolf. I have for a while now.', Phia spoke in a hushed voice.  
>There was a brief silence before Remus spoke up again.<br>'You haven't told anybody, have you?'  
>His face had turned grey with worry and angst, leaving the faint scars more visible.<br>'Of course not! I'm not out of my mind! Merlin knows what Dumbledore has set up to enable you to attend this school. Besides, you have never harmed anybody, thus you're innocent. There's no reason to expose you just because you have a miserable condition.'  
>He exhaled, obviously relieved and so did the other three.<br>'You still haven't told what's behind Prongs, Padfoot and Wormtail, though.'  
>The boys looked at each other, questioning looks in their eyes. After a few moments Remus nodded, so did James, followed by Peter. Sirius took another deep breath.<br>'Where should I begin to explain?', he wondered to himself out loud, one hand digging through his hair.  
>'At the end?', Phia suggested, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Sirius snorted in response, which earned him a couple of questioning looks from the other side of the room.<br>'Me, James and Peter are animagi. James is a stag, I'm a black dog, Pete is a rat. We sneak out of the castle each full moon and accompany Moony during his … transformation.'

Phia's mouth opened and shut time and time again. She was left utterly speechless, and it took a lot to stun her into silence. After a while she finally managed to force out a sentence.  
>'So all this boasting of Gryffindor bravery is not just big talk after all…'<br>'You figured out just now?', James said laughing, leaning back on his arms. Phia stuck her tongue out in response and James returned the gesture, causing the rest of the Marauders to burst out into laughter, as well.  
>'Very mature, Phia.', Remus piped in, sitting in a cross-legged position.<br>'Shut it, Moony.', she shot back, delighting Sirius by using their proper nicknames.  
>'When did you learn it?' Her eyes light up at the idea of her friends being animagi.<br>'We mastered it in our fifth year.', Sirius grinned widely as she drew a sharp breath, very much impressed with their skills.  
>'That's fantastic! It takes skill to fully transform into an animagus, even fully trained wizards struggle with this!'<br>'Well, you aren't the only genius around.', James said haughtily, messing up his hair the way he used to when Lily was around. Yes, used to. James Potter stopped playing with his hair in front of his object of desire halfway into their last year, which also contributed to the improvement of their relationship.  
>'I never claimed otherwise!', responded whilst rolling her eyes.<br>'How come you're no animagus?', Peter questioned, an expression of wonder crossing his eyes. He was absolutely positive that if he was capable of transfiguring himself into an animal, somebody as brilliant as Phia should master the art of becoming an animagus within the blink of an eye.  
>The young girl just shrugged in response.<br>'The thought never crossed my mind, to be honest. Besides, transfiguration is not my forte. Charms and Defense against the Dark Arts have always had a greater appeal to me.'  
>James snorted. 'Still better than being a Potions freak. I dread the day that Snape will finally get around to poison <em>all<em> of us.'  
>'I'd rather be frightened about Lily. She's just as brilliant as Severus in Potions and nowhere near as innocent as people tend to perceive her.', Phia argued.<br>'But this is _Evans_ we're talking about. Surely, she wouldn't ever cause anybody serious harm.', Sirius said with a hint of worry.  
>'She won't, unless you give her a valid reason.', the Ravenclaw insisted.<br>Sirius snorted. 'I can already see the headlines in the Daily Prophet: '_Outraged Head Girl poisons fellow students_'.'

'I highly doubt that Lily would poison numerous students at once. I'd like to think that she is smarter than that. She would strategically wipe out one after another – the first victim would serve as an example to warn the others. If they still won't back off, then she will take them down, slowly but surely.'  
>While Phia explained her theory, all of the boys fell eerily silent, internally shuddering from her indifferent voice and steady eyes. Peter began to nervously fidget with his finger nails, a habit he had taken on after the girls had insisted he stopped biting them since it was rather gross.<br>'There's no way that Lily is anywhere near this psychotic.', Remus defied.  
>'Besides, Gryffindors don't choose such cowardly methods.', James added vigorously. 'We go full on from the very beginning.'<br>She looked at the two of them for a few seconds before bursting into fits of laughter.  
>'Oh, Merlin's pants! The look on your faces is <em>priceless<em>!', she choked out between laughs, wiping her eyes.  
>'Not funny, Phi.', Sirius growled in annoyance.<br>She didn't respond but merely resumed to wiping her eyes again for they were all teary from laughing. James looked at her with disbelief, slightly shaking his head.  
>'If I didn't know better, I'd totally think you're bonkers. Like seriously', Phia raised a questioning eyebrow at him, 'you don't say things like that with such a straight face. You sounded positively mad evil right now.'<br>Phia stifled a laugh before putting on her best smile and apologizing. 'Sorry, guys.'  
>Sirius just shook his head and muttered under breath. He then ruffled her hair again, which in turned earned him a death glare from her. She slightly narrowed her eyes and then, with a muffled 'plop', a tiny Cornish pixie appeared right in front of Sirius's face. He suppressed a squeak and quickly leaned back, eyeing the creature suspiciously. The pixie cackled in response and turned to Phia who had conjured him. The girl let out a string of incomprehensible sounds and the pixie nodded with a devious grin. Peter had meanwhile hidden himself underneath the blanket of James's bed, whereas James himself and Remus had crawled back to the other end of the mattress, wands at ready.<br>The pixie turned and immediately pounced on the Black, dancing on top of his head, occasionally pulling at some strands of hair.  
>He roared and jumped up, shaking himself to get the creature off. Phia remained unmoving, smiling with relish at the sight.<br>'For fuck's sake, get that thing off me!', Sirius growled.  
>'But <em>Padfoot<em>, it's just a tiny little pixie. You're not scared, are you?', Phia insisted, mocking him by speaking in a high, girly voice.  
>'Ugh, you little diabolical –'<br>'_Immobulus_!', Remus cried and with a swift motion of his wand the pixie froze. Sirius immediately halted as well, warily glancing up.  
>'Remove it.<em> Now<em>.', he then demanded, eyeing his female friend furiously.  
>She rolled her eyes and with another 'plop' the pixie disappeared. James let out a relieved sigh and Peter came out from out of the covers again.<br>'That's what you get for always messing with my hair', Phia then exclaimed with a bright smile.  
>Sirius's face darkened as he approached her, hovering above her in front of the bad, seeing whether she would shrink back from his large frame. She remained unfazed, but suspicious. A smirk crept on his face and he lunged at her, trapping her in his arms and began to tickle her into oblivion.<br>'Nononononono, don't! Please! Stop! Have mercy!', the small girl shrieked between laughs, trying to free herself from his iron grip.  
>'Guys, help me!', she finally begged, which only earned her laughter from James, Remus and Peter.<p>

'Sorry, but I think dinner's about to start-'  
>'And truth to be told-'<br>'We're all pretty damn hungry, so-'  
>'We'll leave it to the two of you to settle this.', James ended with a smug grin on his face as he and the boys exited the dorm.<p> 


	14. Chapter 13

I'd like to apologize for the long and unannounced hiatus and the short (and admittedly pretty sucky) update... A-levels, writer's block and Uni just kept piling up and now I no longer remember where this story was supposed to go… though I have come up with various ideas over the last few days, it might take me a while to figure out how I shall end this fan fiction. However, I will post a one-shot about my main character Sophia, which will be incorporated into the story at some point.  
><em>- <em> 

The next morning the Marauders and the girls boarded the Hogwarts Express early in the morning, each of them in an excellent mood and filled with Christmas spirit as they piled into a compartment.  
>Remus and Lily immediately buried themselves into their books, whereas Phia and Peter had a silent agreement that staring out of the window and watching the snowy landscape was the best way to pass the time until the trolley came by their compartment. The others meanwhile engaged in various conversations which eventually lead up to the question of a New Years' Eve Party.<br>'We absolutely _have_ to celebrate New Years' Eve together, I insist!' Mary cried halfway through the ride, back in full drama queen mode.  
>'My place is out of the question this time, I'm not willing to do all the cleaning again', Marlene argued back, arms folded.<br>'Well, Prongs's place is about the same size as Marlene's, that'd be another option. And we'll both be there to clean things up afterwards. Plus, I'm sure Mr. and Mrs. P won't mind helping out a teeny tiny bit', Sirius suggested.  
>James furrowed his eyebrows, deep in thought, contemplating the idea of hosting the New Years' Eve Party at his home. He had already told them that his parents would probably be out said night, so he wouldn't have to find an excuse to get them out of the way. As much as he loved Mr. and Mrs. Potter – nobody wants his parents to be around when their friends are wasted and all over each other.<br>'Fine, we can celebrate at my place. But I won't have half of Hogwarts in my house - especially not the Slytherins!'

Upon hearing this Hestia and Mary burst into a frenzy, thanking him over and over again, and began to plan the whole evening, making the wildest suggestions and, quite frankly, overwhelming James with their enthusiasm. Phia nestled herself further into her seat next the window, freezing despite her thick woolen sweater. Sirius, who sat next to her, noticed and immediately pulled her closer to himself to help her warm up.  
>'Are you still cold?', he asked quietly, gently rubbing her arm with his thumbs.<br>'A little', Phia replied in a small voice, shrugging slightly, but smiling up at him.  
>Their exchange didn't go unnoticed by Remus and Lily, who then exchanged knowing glances, but decided to keep quiet. The evening before they had discussed how the dynamics between those two had changed throughout the past term and the possible outcomes of their relationship. James and Remus where convinced that Sirius was developing romantic feelings towards his little Ravenclaw friend, but Lily was still highly critical of Black. He still hadn't entirely dropped his habit of picking up random flings. They were, however, determined to keep an eye on the two over the holidays, especially since Sirius had gone out of his way concerning his Christmas present for Phia. None of the girls knew what Phia had gotten Sirius for Christmas, either, therefore they could do nothing but wait for Christmas Day to draw further conclusions.<p>

The rest of the ride went by without any disturbances and the seventh years headed into their Christmas break in a cheerful and hopeful mood, that remained untainted by the fact that the world outside of Hogwarts had become considerably darker and more dangerous since they 'd last been home. Even Phia finally laid her seemingly never-ending worries aside for once and just enjoyed the mere fact that she got to spent the holidays not only with her family, but also her _friends_ – and again, she believed herself to be extraordinarily lucky to now have people in her life whom she could call that. The group separated after a long and elaborate hugging session at the train station, much to their parents' (in Phia's case, her brother's) amusement.  
>And even later on, the Marauders and their friends would always recall this particular Christmas in 1977 as one of the most precious moments in their lives, for it would be the last truly peaceful Christmas they would have for many years to come.<p> 


End file.
